Hand Brake Turn’s Social Enterprise ‘fiXit’
Young people who have graduated from the Hand Brake Turn program are given the opportunity to continue to develop their skills by working alongside experienced professionals servicing cars and repairing donated cars. You can strengthen Hand Brake Turn for the future through our social enterprise, fiXit, which has two primary functions…
- We repair and service donated cars that are then sold or gifted to members of the community who are in need.
- We service cars for the public, community partners and staff, and make minor repairs where needed.
All income from servicing and selling cars within fiXit is reinvested into our primary Hand Brake Turn program that supports disengaged young people discover a career path and develop life skills.
As an initiative to support our community, fiXit gifts two cars each year to members of the community who are experiencing disadvantage.
There are criteria we require to be met to receive a donated car. If you would like to enquire, please email fixit@concernaustralia.org.au.
To donate your car please contact Michael Ponchard on michael.ponchard@concernaustralia.org.au or 0452 249 461.
To book a service for your car at our Sunshine West or Dandenong sites, click on the preferred site below and fill out the online booking form. Alternatively, you can contact us directly on the details below. Please do not use the online form for donating a car – contact Michael on the details above.
- For Sunshine West bookings contact our team at fixit@concernaustralia.org.au
- For Dandenong bookings contact Phillip Bloy on phillip.bloy@concernaustralia.org.au or 0452 249 449.
Address: Unit 1, 668 Somerville Rd, Sunshine West VIC 3020
Address: 27 Station Street, Dandenong VIC 3175
NATHAN’S STORY
It was a beautiful sunny day when Nathan randomly dropped into Hand Brake Turn to say g’day and have a chat to a couple of his old trainers. We took the opportunity to check in with him about what he thought about the course and how he was going now, nearly two years after doing the course.
“Hand Brake Turn is one of those places where they are more than happy to give you a hand with anything,” said Nathan, as he worked on helping get a dent out of one of our staff member’s personal car.
“I really recommend this place for any type of person, even if they don’t have mechanical skills. They teach it to you from the ground up, they don’t just show you – they explain why everything is the way it is.”
Nathan first heard about Hand Brake Turn when a couple of his family members encouraged him to apply and work in our mechanic training workshop. He was interested in mechanics, but was also eager to develop his life skills for future work opportunities. From Hand Brake Turn he was able to find employment and he is really enjoying working.
As he recalls what he learnt from the course, “There are so many things I could say, it’s intense,” said Nathan. He liked how even though it may have been hard to absorb all of the information in a short time, he said he was thankful for the length, “you see the end of the tunnel and learn heaps.” Nathan was quite impacted by his trainers and the level of dedication they provided to each student. “They know how to make you more productive with your time and taught me many life long lessons! I learnt a lot of life skills, motor skills, tool recognition, computer programming, verbal skills, and English skills.”
Nathan said the most beneficial part of the course was experiencing, “a family feel environment, you don’t feel like an outcast, it doesn’t matter who you are – you’re respected!” He shared how trainers made the workshops enjoyable. Even cleaning up the work bench or car became enjoyable because of the positive work environment.
The knowledge he gained from the trainers and course helped him purchase a new car suited to his needs. “It also helped me mentally, made me a more mature and stable person. You want to step up your game here.”
We’re proud of Nathan and all that he learned through our program that helped to prepare him for work. We love that he continues to make time to pop back in to say hi and stay connected with Hand Brake Turn.