Programs
OUR PROGRAMS
Opportunity Enterprises has been serving Northwest Indiana since 1967. We’re an amazing team of 450+ employees serving nearly 1,000 adults with disabilities. We are passionate about what we do, and we work hard every day to meet the educational, vocational and residential needs of our clients.
OE operates 16 facilities in Northwest Indiana, including our vocational work center in Valparaiso, our day services facility on Lake Eliza, community employment offices, seven group homes and two respite homes. Please click through the menu of programs that we offer for those with disabilities & become inspired by the scope of all that OE encompasses.
Watch this 5:27 video about our programs.
Opportunity Enterprises’ Respite program offers temporary care for families who need a break from the continuous demands of caring for a family member who is developmentally or physically disabled. Our modern family homes are located in Jackson Township and Merrillville. Families can be assured of a safe, comfortable, homelike and caring fully accessible environment for their loved one.
While at the Respite Program, clients receive:
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All meals and snacks
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A wide variety of regularly scheduled recreational activities
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Laundry services
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Bathing and personal care
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Routine administration of medications
The Respite program is operational 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The program is open year-round, except for major holidays.
Clients may stay at the residence for as little as four hours or up to fourteen days at a time, depending on availability. We recommend making reservations months in advance for holidays and the summer period when demand is greatest.
If you visited one of our Respite Homes on any given day, you might find a Wii tournament taking place, or on a summer day, you might find clients splashing in the pool. Or, staff and clients could be found working one-on-one towards daily goals. Our Respite program provides clients with entertaining, educational and comfortable care when their families or guardians need a moment to sit back and relax or go on vacation.
Homes are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with Direct Support Professionals who have big hearts and open minds. DSPs are trained in CPR, First Aid and medication administration. They work hard to enrich the quality of a participant’s life while their family or caregiver is away on vacation or taking a few hours to tend to personal affairs.
For more information about our Respite program, please contact us.
Click below to see the Respite Calendar of Activities.
September - November Activity Details
RESPITE
Enriching Possibilities
Located at our Lakeside Opportunities facility, Enriching Possibilities is a curriculum-based program designed to ensure that clients can continue to make consistent progress on their individual communication, socialization, community integration, academic, and self-sufficiency goals, regardless of their current skill level.
Daily Living Skills
Daily Living Skills is geared toward individuals who have multiple or severe disabilities, where they work on improving the skills they need to function with ease on a day-to-day basis.
Renewed Horizons
Renewed Horizons is a curriculum-based program located in our Lakeside facility. Our adults receive personal care and assistance, medical consultations by an agency nurse and social/recreational activities.
QUEST – Quality Educational Skills Training
QUEST is an OE program that offers enrichment to women and men with disabilities. It provides clients with extra opportunities to develop life skills and creativity, including cooking classes, community art, exercise, music, nature, and more.
TREND - Technology Recreation Education Nature Discovery
Proven success in curriculum-based day programs led OE to create a fifth skills training program. TREND opened in April 2017 with 120 clients. Trend focuses on extensive curriculum in technology, recreation, education, nature, and discovery.
Day Services
If you walk into a fast food restaurant, grocery store, local healthcare facility or university, you may find an Opportunity Enterprises JobSource participant at the checkout or helping a customer, patient, or student. Our JobSource staff has over 20 years of experience placing and supporting qualified individuals with disabilities in community employment in a wide range of careers, from entry-level to professional positions. With offices in Porter, Lake and Laporte Counties, JobSource serves all of Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland. JobSource’s 97% placement retention rate has earned it the distinction of being the preferred employment agency for more than 100 businesses in our service area.
JobSource helps employers and ensures that the people that we place for employment are successful by providing:
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Pre-employment activities to ensure an employee is prepared for their first day of work, such as resume writing and mock interviewing
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A thorough screening process to ensure that an individual will apply for the position that best fits their skill sets and capabilities
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On-site support and job coaching from our staff that ensures ongoing employee success and productivity
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An assistive technology program that features computer adaptations for clients with physical, visual, developmental and/or learning disabilities
JobSource opens so many doors to careers for people with disabilities, finding employment that fits with individual vocational goals and aspirations. Examples of employment opportunities and our preferred supporters are as follows:
Example Positions
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Computer programmers
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Certified public accountants
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Nursing
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Nursing home aids
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Assembly/industrial workers
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Restaurant managers
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Food service
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Teaching
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Daycare assistants
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Custodial service
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Mechanics
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Dietary aids
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Information technology
For more information on our JobSource program, please contact us.
Businesses who prefer us
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Burger King
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Courtyard by Marriot
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Cracker Barrel
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Fairfield Inn & Suites
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Family Express
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Hartsfield Village
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Help at Home – Michigan City
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McDonald’s
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Metro Recycling
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Sears
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Strack and Van Til
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Strongbow
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Target
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Valparaiso University
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Walgreens
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Walmart
JOBSOURCE
SUPPORTED LIVING
Opportunity Enterprise’s Supported Living program provides individuals with disabilities residences within the community that include supervised care, customized to the needs of the individual. Homes range from a single studio apartment to houses shared with others. Our participants choose the living environment and services that best meet their needs, and are given the opportunity to live and thrive independently in our community. Our professional and caring staff provides ongoing assistance in coordinating living quarters, financial stability programs, menu planning, grocery shopping, sport participation and medical needs.
Through Supported Living, participants can live on their own and have staff interaction only 5 hours per week, or four participants can share an apartment and have 24-hour staff supervision. Activities during the week may include going to one of Opportunity Enterprises’ Daily Programs or participating in our JobSource program.
Our staff also aids the participants in reaching daily goals, including health and safety, household and money management skills, recreation and leisure, social and daily living skills.
For more information on our Supported Living program, please contact us.
TRANSPORTATION
OE Express Transportation is a transit service provided by trained staff members to anyone who lives in and around Porter County. All that is required in order to request a ride includes:
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Full name, address & phone number
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Destination address
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Requested arrival and departure time
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If you will be traveling with a personal care attendant, need lift to board and Medicaid number (if applicable)
*Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7:00am-5:00pm.
*Must call 2 hours in advance to cancel requested pick-up.
*Fares are $7.50 one-way within Porter County and $10 one-way outside of Porter County. Cash and checks are accepted for all trips. Medicaid is accepted only for medical appointment trips.
What are the driver’s responsibilities?
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It is the responsibility of the driver to deliver you from your pick-up location to your destination. They will deploy the lift upon request; however, if you need assistance, a personal assistant may accompany you free of charge. The driver cannot enter your home or any other establishment.
Information on our transportation options is available in alternative formats upon request.
No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
TRANSPORTATION COMPLAINT FORM
If you have a complaint, please visit the contact us page and fill out the Transportation Complaint Form, download it here, or call us at (219) 464-9621, ext. 227. Assistance in filling out the form is available upon request.
GROUP HOMES
Opportunity Enterprises currently operates seven group homes in Porter County. The homes, supporting six residents each, provide a warm, family-like, community-based, non-clinical setting designed to encourage the residents to take ownership of their homes and become increasingly more self-sufficient and active in the community.
Each home provides 24-hour personalized assistance, medical and nutritional support and staff and medical monitoring. Residents are involved in personal medical training, and a registered dietitian monitors the nutritional needs of individuals.
For more information about OE Group Homes, please contact us.
In order to be eligible for residential and day services, an individual must be at least 18 years of age and meet the eligibility and funding requirements established by the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services (BDDS) and Division of Aging (DA). Private Pay options are available. Referrals may come from any source.
Day Program hours of operation, M-F, 7:30-4:00. Residential services operate on a 24 hour basis.
For additional information, please contact our Intake Specialist at 219.464.9621 Ext. 261
Job Source – Referrals must come through Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). Job Source Office hours are M-F 8-4:30. Funding is provided by VR and BDDS. Private Pay options available.
For additional information, please contact our Intake Specialist at 219.464.9621 Ext. 213