When Gary Mitchell and the Opportunity Enterprises Board purchased 158 acres along Lake Eliza in Valparaiso, they envisioned a place with unlimited potential to bring joy and rest to Northwest Indiana’s differently abled and their families.

Wednesday, Mitchell, the 55-year-old organization’s former chief executive officer got to see his vision come to fruition as he, members of the current board and other dignitaries broke ground on the new Respite Center at 32 S. Fish Lake Drive. Mitchell, who left 11 1/2 years ago and now lives in Tennessee, said his vision hasn’t changed for the property even if he’s no longer part of the day to day.

“When we purchased it back then, we were able to see the potential not only for Northwest Indiana parents and families to come here and participate, but people from all over,” Mitchell said after he and the other tossed the dirt for the 16,000 square-foot center. “To have nature and programming in this natural, beautiful setting will put Northwest Indiana on the map.”

Current OE President and CEO Neil Samahon told a packed room that he sees the future in the new project, of which $5.1 million, or 76%, of the total funds for the build have been raised. An independent-living complex on the property, for example, already houses clients, giving them a quality of life that exceeds expectations.

The respite center will further that mission by allowing families and caretakers, as well as the clients, to take a break from the everyday and just have fun, Samahon said.

“No longer will (our clients) be expected to sit on the sidelines,” he said. “We’re creating a place where barriers don’t exist.”

Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch said she’d first learned of the community the families of differently abled people created in the 1950s and 1960s. Families would find each other and seek ways to improve their children’s lives, she said.

The new OE Lakeside Respite Center, she said, takes their hopes into the future.

“When I was on the Board of Directors of ARC in Evansville, what touched my heart was the passion and commitment of those people taking care of this population,” Crouch said. “One hundred thousand Hoosiers have autism, Down syndrome or cerebral palsy, and we need to make sure they have access to safe, affordable places and be able to provide those who’ve dedicated their entire lives to taking care of people with different abilities (a place to relax).”

Crouch added that although Indiana has a 2.2% unemployment rate with 155,000 jobs unfilled, the differently abled population that can work has a 70% unemployment rate.

For Sam Ruiz, 19, of Hebron, working with his brother, Ethan, 12, will be a blast. Ruiz attended the groundbreaking with Ethan, who manned a shovel, and their mom, Tracy Ruiz, and will join several others as camp counselors at OE this summer.

“There aren’t a lot of camps for (differently abled) kids, and just want to get outside and be with my brother.” Sam Ruiz said.

Other counselors at the groundbreaking — Luke McQuestion, Mikayla Velazquez, Jillian Hilty, Adrianna McFadden and Nicole Brandy — look forward to the challenge and fun of working with OE’s clients. McFadden, of Valparaiso, who’ll start her third year as a counselor, said she’s been a camp counselor with for abled kids but enjoys the challenges of OE.

“It’s a different responsibility,” she said. “There’s more to do with crowd control, plus you have to adapt more with clients in wheelchairs or those who’re nonverbal.

“It changes your creativity.”

Velazquez, of Portage, said her brother, who’s on the autism spectrum, was her inspiration to pursue music therapy in school.

The Lakeside Respite Center is funded by donations, including a $750,000 matching grant.

Those who wish to donate toward the project should contact OE at 219-464-9621 or oppent.org.