SUISUN VALLEY — B Walker Ranch is destined to be a place for special needs adults to learn skills for a lifetime.

The ranch is a work in progress with buildings going up and fields seeded for an up-and-coming day program that will cater to adults on a 10.6-acre site.

Pamela Hale Mitchell, along with Jeanine Stanley, launched the ranch with the goal of it becoming a self-sustaining nonprofit to help those on the autism spectrum.

Participants will learn planting and farming, tool and equipment use, nutrition and meal planning, animal care, and food harvesting and delivery in a day program that will take place Monday through Friday.

The daily tasks of running a ranch will offer opportunities for meaningful work and a sense of belonging, Hale Mitchell and Stanley said. Participants will be real ranchers learning skills for sustainability. Hale Mitchell and Stanley plan set up a fruit stand to offer the community a chance to taste the produce and goods created on the ranch.

B Walker Ranch was born when Stanley, mother of a son with autism, began working as the parent representative for the Martinez School District. Hale Mitchell’s brother was the inspiration for her work as he also has autism.

“He is 60 years old and back then there were no programs for adults,” Hale Mitchell said.

Once children with special needs age out of school, they typically have limited options for programs to help them.

“A lot of them just stay at home and don’t go out,” Hale Mitchell said.

Planning for the program began in 2010 with the goal of making it something that is available to anyone. The program will welcome medical interns, emergency medical technicians and first responders to learn about autism and how to work with adults with special needs while out in the field.

“The goal is to help EMTs and first responders learn and bring that knowledge back to their community,” Hale Mitchell said.

It is their mission to create a ranch that will become a model program to be replicated in other communities, meeting the growing number of people with autism, Hale Mitchell said.

They have a four-person board with Hale Mitchell, Stanley, May Mineta and Jane Burkman along with volunteers from the community who help to make this dream a reality.

“Everything is from donations,” Hale Mitchell said. “Nobody is paid. Every dime goes into the ground to make this happen.”

Stanley and Hale Mitchell plan to have the 2nd Annual B Walker Ranch Hoe Down Barbecue on Sept. 9 with a live auction, silent auction, dinner and music.

“We have fundraisers throughout the year,” Hale Mitchell said

The ranch also accepts donations and, Hale Mitchell said, they would love to have volunteers.

B Walker Ranch

• Address: 4160 Suisun Valley Road, Space E, Suisun Valley
• Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
• Website: https://bwalkerranch.org

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