money Promise in Brevard, Brevard Achievement Center partner to employ special-needs adults
Promise in Brevard and the Brevard Achievement Center are teaming up to help adults with cognitive and physical disabilities find work at an array of Space Coast businesses.
“We’re two of the largest organizations helping the special-needs community in Brevard County," Promise in Brevard Chief Executive Officer Jeff Kiel said.
"We have our core competencies. Our core competency is housing and support for independent living. The Brevard Achievement Center, one of their big core competencies is employment," Kiel said.
"So Amar (Patel, BAC president and CEO) and I have been talking for a year about: How can we how can we find synergies between our two respective organizations, so that we don't have duplicative efforts?" he said.
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Promise in Brevard houses 125 adults with cognitive and physical disabilities at its West Melbourne apartment complex, located just north of the Hammock Landing shopping center.
Based in Rockledge, Brevard Achievement Center is the region's largest employer of people with disabilities, linking worksites with more than 600 employees. The group also offers employment training and placement services to 1,300 people.
“We mention the word ‘jobs.’ But, really, it's long-term career employment, not just an everyday job," said Tammy Farmer, Promise in Brevard marketing and communications manager.
"We really want to find them something that they want to do for the rest of their lives," Farmer said.
Kiel said about 70 Promise residents were working before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Employers included Publix, Winn-Dixie, RiverView Senior Resort in Palm Bay, Imperial Salon & Spa in Indian Harbour Beach, IHOP, Cracker Barrel, Dunkin' Donuts, United Space Coast Cables and the Florida Institute of Technology.
That number tumbled to virtually zero last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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BAC is taking over and broadening Promise's in-house vocational training and employment program. Carrol Samuels, a BAC employment consultant, started working with Promise residents in September.
Roughly 40 Promise residents have returned to various payrolls, Kiel said, with more coming through BAC's pipeline of counseling and training via the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
“We do mock interviews. We’ll do travel training — we have residents who have never taken the buses before," Samuels said.
"So we do travel training, mock interviews, resume preparation. We talk about appropriate work behavior, good work ethics," she said.
Promise in Brevard's first business employing special-needs adults, Promise Treasures Thrift Shoppe, opened in October 2013 at Metro West Shopping Plaza. Prior to the pandemic, the store employed 10 Promise residents and provided vocational training for another 30 special-needs adults.
The organization also opened Promise Café & Bakery, a 7,000-square-foot eatery, in February 2020 at West Melbourne Community Park. Since the pandemic, the facility is operating as Aves’ Place Ice Cream and an event-catering operation for private events.
“The more business we do, the more events we do, the more ice cream we sell, the more thrift shop (business we do) — it’s all about employing our residents," Kiel said.
"Yes, we want to make money because that money comes back to our nonprofit. But the more activity we do as we grow, the more Promise residents we can employ," he said.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard Achievement Center connects special-needs employees with jobs
