Our Mission

“To provide quality transitional and permanent housing and person centered supportive services, to individuals and families, promoting the highest level of self-sufficiency.”

OCO’s Residential Services Department offers a variety of programs and services to help provide permanent and transitional housing to meet the special needs of individuals in our community. 

Below is a brief description of each of the Residential Services Department Service Areas:

Developmental Disabilities Services:

For Individuals with a Developmental Disability, Services include:

IRAs – Individualized Residential Alternatives – Permanent housing for individuals with a developmental disability in a variety of residential settings including larger (8-9 bed homes) smaller (4-5 bed homes) and Supervised and Supportive Apartments.

Non Certified Shared Living Situations  – Permanent housing for individuals with a developmental disability, with limited supports provided by the agency

Respite Services – A place where individuals with a developmental disability (ages 4 and older) can stay in a beautiful home like setting for a day or a few days, providing the individual and their care giver with a break.  Respite Services are usually available Thursdays afternoon to Sunday evening throughout the year.

Day Habilitation Services –  Day programming  for individuals with a developmental disability where they can learn about various establishments and activities in their community  and how to access and participate when going into their community.  We offer a  group setting located in Fulton, NY or a 1:1 setting based on the needs of the individual.

Community Habilitation Services – Programming  for individuals with a developmental disability offered in a 1:1 or small groups based out of the individual’s home where they learn a variety of daily living skills both in the home and in their community to increase their independence.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES

Backstreet Apartments

Permanent housing for individuals or families who are homeless. Located on the corner of Route 481 and Oneida Street, Backstreet houses six apartments on the building’s second and third floors: one studio apartment, two 1-bedroom apartments, two 2-bedroom apartments, and one 3-bedroom apartment. These units were created by OCO in 2006 from a shell that was once a hotel but had been vacant and run-down for many years. In recent years the building’s exterior deteriorated from decades of exposure to rain and snow, and the apartments were no longer energy-efficient.

This $1 million renovation project has remedied those issues, and turned a crumbling exterior into an attractive and functional façade built to withstand our toughest rain and snow storms! New insulated windows and new HVAC and bathroom ventilation systems will improve energy efficiency and keep our residents more comfortable year-round. Finishing touches included new thermostats, interior painting, and enlarged window areas.

Family Care Program

Family Care is a certified residential program for adults recovering from a mental illness. Family Care provides support and supervision for individuals who need a minimum level of structure and supervision to achieve and/or maintain improved stability with community living. Family Care provides an opportunity to live in a private family home in the community and receive support and guidance of a caring family. Residents are carefully screened and matched with private citizens willing to share their homes to enhance the quality of life for the resident. The staff of Family Care works closely with family care providers to ensure a positive experience for both the resident and the provider. The length of stay in the residential program is voluntary and dependent on the residents’ choice and need.

Watch our tv commercial here! 

Family Care Brochure 2022

Chemical Dependence Services

The Chemical Dependence Program is a residential program consisting of the Arbor House Community Residence and the Supportive Living Program.  It is certified by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.  The Program strives to provide a supervised, safe and substance-free environment for individuals recovering from the effects of a substance dependence or abuse condition. 

The Arbor House Supervised Community Residence – Provides a supervised, safe and substance-free environment for up to sixteen adults in a rural home-like setting a few miles outside the City of Oswego with twenty-four hour, seven days per week staffing, where they can work on skills to maintain their sobriety while transitioning back into the community.

Chemical Dependence Supportive Living Apartments – Provides support assistance and guidance for up to twelve adults residing in six apartments located in a large apartment complex near the City of Oswego who have maintained their sobriety and are ready to transition into the community.

Mental Health Services

The Mental Health Transitional Living Program provides residential services to psychiatrically disabled adults. This program is designed to allow adults diagnosed with a severe and persistent mental illness to live in the community in the least restrictive environment.

The program offers 2 levels of residential and rehabilitative assistance to adults who can not live in the community independently. Certified residential services are available at two levels of supervision:

The Supervised Residence Program-Program Level 1.  This residential program provides 24 hour on-site staffing. The goal of the program is to improve functional abilities to enable movement toward independent living (either alone or with others) in a community based setting.

The Apartment Treatment Program– Program Level 2. This residential program provides a greater level of independence with consumers receiving two to seven face to face visits from staff weekly according to the individual need, with staff also available as needed on an emergency on call basis.  Each service area is intended to assist the client gain the skills necessary to live independently in the community of their choice. The client works with the staff to develop an Individualized Action Plan containing goals and objectives based on need.

Crisis Bed- Program is available for members of the community in need of short term  (7-14 days) crisis support in order to avert an unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization, prevent a lengthy hospitalization and/or provide step down support following hospitalization prior to return to independent living status, or while awaiting alternative community placement. The MHTL Crisis Bed is located at the Supervised Residence and is available to community members that meet specified criteria.