Beyond Employment Initiative (BEI) focuses on the practical obstacles that keep people from working like transportation, work essentials, communication tools, and early job support. We help adults who are ready and willing to work but cannot accept or maintain jobs because of barriers that are solvable with targeted help.

Many programs prepare people with disabilities for employment but stop at training. BEI steps in when a person has a job offer or is newly employed and something simple is standing in the way, like transportation, steel-toed shoes, or a phone to communicate with employers when they aren’t at work. We listen to these needs and respond quickly. We also coordinate directly with employers, families, and partner agencies to ensure participants are set up for success once employed.

Our Mission

  • We serve adults with disabilities in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, primarily in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties. Participants are adults, 18 or older, ready and willing to work, but blocked by practical barriers to employment, which can be something as simple as a ride to work.

  • BEI provides six core supports to help participants gain and maintain employment:

    1. Transportation assistance

    2. Work essentials

    3. Communication and technology access

    4. Job retention and coaching support

    5. Employer education

    6. Cross-agency collaboration

If you or someone you love is ready to work but needs support to start or keep a job, BEI can help.

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“BEI made it possible for me to get to work without spending my entire paycheck on Ubers.”

Testimonials

“Steel-toed boots were very expensive and hard to come by in the size I needed. BEI gave me the funds needed to purchase custom sized shoes to I could maintain safe employment.”