Educational Services

Mental illness often interferes with a person's ability to learn and can interrupt their formal education. Regaining academic skills is an important part of the recovery process for adults with mental illness.

At Employment Options, we recognize the need to provide members with the opportunity to pursue educational goals which fit their needs. For some, a goal might be to obtain a GED, while others might want to connect with a college or vocational program, hoping to improve their job skills and/or work toward a degree.

• Supported Education Program
• Individual Tutoring
• Health Education
  • Substance Abuse
  • Nutrition and Fitness Education
• Financial Literacy

Supported Education Program

Our Supported Education Program assists members in identifying and obtaining their educational and career goals. With goals in place, Employment Options works with educational institutions to accomodate Options' students and to help them understand and access the educational system.

Individual Tutoring

When members require extra support, Options offers individual tutoring in the following areas:

• Support for college courses
• Working toward a GED
• Life skills enhancement

Health Education

The physical health of people affects their mental health. Because of this, health education plays an integral role in recovery.

• Substance Abuse
  Members dealing with substance abuse are provided transportation to and from a noon time AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting daily.
• Nutrition and Fitness Education
  Medications for mental illness often lead to weight gain. Depression from mental illness often leads to inactivity. Options' structured fitness and nutrition programs offset these side effects and improve a person's self-esteem. Fitness equipment that the Options Clubhouse owns includes exercise bikes, treadmills and a Universal weight station.

'Money Matters' - Financial Literacy

Financial Literacy provides the foundation for saving and spending wisely. It is the basis for the responsible use of money and for making informed financial decisions that can affect all aspects of one's life.  Individuals who come from low income backgrounds and who do not have experience with finances tend to be in danger of being exploited by credit card companies, predatory loan agreements, and may need education on how to establish and maintain healthy credit. 

For the past 20 years Employment Options has been working with people with psychiatric disabilities and helping those who are low-income return to the workforce. Many of our program participants have been exploited and many do not have bank accounts and rely on local convenience stores to purchase money orders and cash checks. Often, even staff doesn't have enough knowledge to provide accurate guidance to members.

To meet this acute need, Employment Options received a grant from American Express Economic Independence Fund to provide financial literacy for its staff and populations served. These classes, called Money Matters, provided a two-tier level of financial literacy from basic to advanced classes.

• Tier 1 classes included basic education RE: budgeting, credit issues, record keeping, and savings accounts. The individuals attending these classes have often been prey to credit card and loan agreement scams. The curriculum was ordered from Purdue University and Fannie Mae Foundation. At the end, participants meet one-on-one with a financial coach, to establish realistic financial goals and assist them with budgeting, debt reduction and savings plans.
• Tier II classes, conducted by Womankind Educational and Resource Center, included more complex topics such a car loans, home mortgages, car/home insurance, investment and estate planning. Experts presented, informed and answered questions on these topics.

In total this grant educated 60 people on financial literacy. Participants comprised of 30 members of Options Clubhouse, 15 workforce development participants, and 15 staff.

Unique and/or innovative aspects of the project

To ensure program completion, transportation, dinner, and childcare were offered to program participants. Incentives were also offered to each class to assist in motivating people to learn. Specific incentives were $10 gift certificates to local restaurants awarded randomly or for class participation.