Branches Blokes

Our BRANCHES BLOKES initiative is a unique way to get people with very challenging disabilities in to the workforce, get them feeling good about their role in life, and most importantly, to earn some of their own money.

Some of our people thought they’d never have a job. They’ve never been able to fit in to the usual supported employment models for people with disabilities. We don’t have “too-hard baskets” at Branches.

Just like anyone else, the people we support want to have a valued role in their community, to contribute, and to have the opportunity to earn their own money. Sometimes a person’s disabilities can put some big roadblocks in the way of this, even too big for more traditional supported employment services to cope with. This is the case for many of our people.

BRANCHES BLOKES is an initiative designed to address this. We’ve worked out how to use our own staff to support our people to work. The staff have developed such a unique and very detailed understanding of the people they support, and hence formed very close relationships with them, often based largely on trust. It’s this relationship that needs to be utilised when folks with such high support needs are trying to participate in the workforce.

So that’s what we are doing.

We have already had great success in taking this approach with two of the people we support. Both would be considered unsuitable for traditional and more standard supported employment due to their very high support needs. Their workers, who they know so well and trust so much, support them both in part-time jobs, across a variety of businesses in Brisbane’s bayside suburbs. We are now looking to expand this so more of our people can participate.

BRANCHES BLOKES utilises a pool of our people who want to work, and our own staff to assist them. We will be able to offer mowing, yard cleaning, furniture moving, rubbish removal and other odd jobs as negotiated.

We already have a commercial vehicle, a large caged box trailer, and some of the gardening/mowing equipment, but we need more.

We’re really on to something good here, and any donations, (whether equipment or funds), will be greatly appreciated. Give us a call, send us an email, or DONATE to securely make a financial contribution.

Not only will you help to provide these young men an avenue to explore their capabilities around work, increase their self-esteem, and earn an income, you will be contributing to breaking down the barriers within society that prevent them from being seen as valuable members capable and able to contribute.