PEABODY — Organizations like Bridgewell, that support and empower people with disabilities, help secure employment in different ways: through volunteer situations, direct employment, or a group-supported model.
Group-supported employment means that, depending on their skills and personal situations, individuals come to work as a group with a job coach who can help them with any issues at the job site. There is usually a ratio in the group of the maximum number of clients per job coach.
One of the recent partnerships that Darren Goad, a career specialist at Bridgewell, was able to forge is with Peabody’s Create and Escape, a DIY party and workshop space on Main Street.
Goad is in a unique position, because he looks for and creates opportunities for his clients based on their personal skill sets and goals. Goad had a client who loved to paint and he thought that Create and Escape might be just the place for her to get a job.
Wendy Minton, co-owner of Create and Escape, said that Bridgewell has visited her business as customers, adding that she was also familiar with the supported-employment concept because she has seen other businesses use it. So when Goad came to her with an idea to employ a few of his clients who loved art and being creative, she immediately said yes.
The timing was perfect as well, said Minton, because the teenagers she employed over the summer were going back to school.
Now, a group of two to four individuals from Bridgewell comes to Create and Escape twice a week.
“When they come in, they grab their aprons immediately,” Minton said, adding that she puts some Disney music on sometimes for them.
The Bridgewell group helps refill the paint bar, which has 60 different paints and about 10 stains. They also clear off and set up tables that are used for painting and crafting by Create and Escape’s customers. Sometimes they might do some other cleaning and maintenance like dusting shelves.
“They are very eager to do more; they ask really great questions about the things we do at the store and they love participating,” said Minton. “It is really a win-win situation.”
Goad said that the group’s activity has been noticed by the neighboring businesses, as well as by the owners of Olio, the event space next door. Olio has also reportedly reached out to Goad about possible cooperation.
Goad currently works with about 50 individuals. Employers contract with Bridgewell and pay for the cost of labor. Bridgewell then funnels these proceeds to its clients.
A lot of Bridgewell clients also like to work with Meals on Wheels, Goad said. They enjoy direct interactions within the community and the ability to get to know long-term customers and form relationships.
Some of Goad’s clients work at a local pizzeria, doing prep work and deliveries. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bridgewell had a successful recycling program with Gordon College in Wenham, Goad added.
Because of COVID, some partners have been slow to reopen and some opportunities were put on a back burner.
But Bridgewell and Goad are always looking for more partners. Goad is open to talk to and brainstorm with any employer out there.
“The big part of what we do is educating the community. People have preconceptions,” Goad said. “They just haven’t had exposure to individuals and to challenges our individuals face. So there is a hesitation sometimes to take us on board.”
If Bridgewell can’t deliver what an employer is looking for, Goad said he would just tell them so. It would also be wrong for Goad’s clients, if the job is too much for them or they are not receiving enough support.
Sometimes an opportunity at hand might not work out, he added, but the same employers might think of him again when something else comes up and they can get together again and renegotiate.
“Be open minded. Give us a little of your time. Don’t be afraid to be creative,” said Goad.
