Overview

Options for Life is a non-profit making voluntary organisation, which enables people with learning disabilities living in the Borough of Sandwell to advance their personal development and lead a full life within the community, using the support and friendship of staff and volunteers. The organisation has a Christian ethos that is the foundation of all of the services and activities that we provide.

The organisation's main administration base is at Oak Green Lodge in Oldbury. The telephone number is 0121 544 6611 and the fax number is 0121 543 4400. 

Options for Life is a Registered Charity (number 1064848), and a company limited by guarantee (number 3341420). The organisation is led by a Board of Trustees and Directors, who meet quarterly each year, with sub committees dealing with specific matters meeting as required.

Options for Life was founded in 1988, and today, it has a budget of over £1million per year, approximately 60 paid workers, around 20 volunteers, six individual service bases, and a fleet of minibuses and cars.

Staff, volunteers and service users have equal value and are all fully involved in the running of the services. This makes for open relationships based on mutual respect, and helps to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Options for Life aims to deliver its services in a way that is ‘invisible', seeking not to stand out as special or separate, but rather to make sure that people with learning disabilities have the opportunity to develop preferences and choices, leisure interests and skills, improve self-confidence and self-worth, develop communication and interpersonal skills, and increase independent living skills. It is important that they are able to feel confident enough to say "I can do it!", and that they recognise their worth.

The organisation compliments and operates in partnership with other statutory and voluntary agencies, and is affiliated to Mencap and Sandwell Council for Voluntary Organisations.

Options for Life provides a wide range of small innovative services for people with learning disabilities, and services are broadly split into four ‘options':

Options for Days offers community based day activities, Monday to Friday, including sports, gardening, local trips, keep fit, cookery, pottery, art, participation in the Gateway Award, etc. Options for Days incorporates a service for Asian women with learning disabilities, and a service for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and complex needs.

Options for Support provides support in service users' own homes, helping them to live independently, providing support for families with parenting issues, help with budgeting, life skills and healthy living skills.

Options for Leisure provides evening and weekend activities such as cooking, art, youth club and football etc. Other opportunities include ten-pin bowling, country walks, cinema, meals out, holidays and shows. We are also committed to meeting the spiritual needs of service users, and run a Christian group as part of Options for Leisure.

Options for Work provides in-house work experience for service users, such as catering, DIY, gardening, etc. People are also given support to find other work experience, vocational training or paid employment. We have three social businesses, Oak Green Services (a gardening and maintenance service), Oak Green Café (a café located within Oak Green Lodge), and The Bookworm Café @ Smethwick Library (All our social businesses offer our service users work experience, and provide a valuable service to the community.

Having mat national standards regarding the training and development of staff, we were awarded the Investors in People award in March 1999, September 2003, November 2006 and March 2010.

In May 2008, Options for Life met the standards and was awarded the Investing in Volunteers quality mark.