To help bring them closer to mainstream living, Willow Glen nonprofit Community Options, at 1095 Bird Ave., is assisting special-needs adults with integrating into their communities.

These individuals are three of the program's 27 clients at the Willow Glen office who go out daily in groups of three with a staff person to look for jobs, to volunteer or to learn practical skills like riding public transportation or price-comparison shopping.

The primary emphasis of the Willow Glen branch is to help people with developmental disabilities look for employment, says Community Options employment regional director Shea Tolson.

Thirty-one-year-old Kimm Westoby says she wants to find a job because she likes to help other people.

With volunteering experience at the Salvation Army, Valley Medical Center, Payless Shoe Source and Lyon's restaurant and a paying job at Marshalls, Westoby has enough experience and training to be hired in retail, which is her goal, Community Options program manager Lisha Erez says.

"She's outgoing, energetic and dedicated," Erez adds.

Westoby, who has had one interview at Macy's, is still waiting to hear whether she will be hired. While she waits, Westoby is busy building her skills like using email and public transportation. And employment assistance is not the only benefit she is receiving from the organization. Community Options also provides her with a valuable social outlet.

"It feels good to come and be with people," she says. "I've made friends here."

Another client, Daniel High, is also in the process of looking for work, but in the meantime, he has become fascinated by the courtroom.

High says he became interested in law after watching the movie Double Jeopardy in which Ashley Judd plays a woman whose husband frames her for murdering him. But when Judd's character finds out she cannot be tried twice for the same crime, she decides to seek revenge by taking his life after she completes her jail time.

Because of High's interest in the legal process, his support specialist, Chris McCann, has taken him and others to visit City Hall and witness the courtroom action.

McCann also says, "Back when we had elections, some clients became interested in the political process."

By visiting educational exhibits at San Jose City Hall, clients were also able to learn about candidates and the voting process.

For client Brent Staley, who is not as verbal as some of the other clients, Community Options provides guidance that allows him to volunteer at Sacred Heart Community Services and to ride the bus across town.

Tailoring activities to individuals' needs and helping them discover their choices is what Community Options is all about.

"We try to individualize services when the person indicates an interest," Erez says. And because giving people choices is what their agency does, staff member Erin Wiley uses a chart with pictures to help those clients with verbal disabilities, as an aid to matching clients with what they are interested in doing. She also spends time with other clients, like Trung Duong, brainstorming the day's schedule.

Duong says he enjoys spending time with Wiley "because she laughs a lot."

Wiley says she appreciates the variety that her job provides, such as going out in the community every day with Duong and other clients. Often her destinations in Willow Glen are the Jamba Juice on Lincoln Avenue, the Willow Glen Library or Bramhall Park on Willow Street.

"Different opportunities pop up every day," Wiley adds.

And to find even more resources for clients and increase the organization's visibility in the community, the staff plans to transition from being based at an office to finding meeting points in clients' neighborhoods.

McCann says that being out in the community will widen the job search that staff members and clients do together.

"We'll be able to offer more coverage around the valley and find more opportunities for employment," he says. "[Employment] is our biggest deal and it's also the hardest thing to do."

For Community Options' more independent clients, a job coach trains them one on one until they can work unassisted. But for clients with disabilities, there is a need for constant support. These individuals are placed in teams of three with a specific business and are overseen by a Community Options staff member.

Erez acknowledges that businesses hesitate to hire three employees who need the same scheduled hours and that getting these placements is one of the organization's big challenges. The task is also especially difficult during current tough economic times.

The nonprofit's office in Willow Glen has made mobility convenient because it's centrally located in San Jose. The organization has been in Willow Glen since 1992.

The organization, which is a division of the Foundation for Educational Achievement, also has independent-living services and school-towork transition and transportation training.

The program's genesis came about when it separated from a school district's assistance program in San Diego in 1985. It spread to four counties in Southern California before beginning services in Northern California in the late 1980s, says Community Options independent-living service regional director Karen Mercer.

The agency is funded by the state's Department of Developmental Services' regional centers, federal funding and private donations, Tolson says.

"We're well connected in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Alameda counties, but we're always looking for folks who can help us serve the community better or are willing to fundraise," Tolson says.

Erez says the best part of her job is "seeing a smile or a paycheck or having them be acknowledged in the community."

For more information about Community Options, visit www.communityoptions.org. The nonprofit will be holding its second annual Northern California Golf Tournament on May 21 at Coyote Creek Golf Club. For information about the golf tournament, call Karen Mercer at 408.275.1593 x 20.