Non-profit bakery program that helps adults with Acquired Brain Injury (stroke, accident, tumor,etc) get back to work & community through therapist-supported tasks involved with baking & selling cupcakes & cookies. Sarah Bellum's Bakery & Workshop is a social enterprise bakery that supports adults with brain injury to return to work and community re-engagement by baking delicious, hand-crafted cupcakes. As an avid self-taught baker and a clinician/researcher interested in supporting adults with brain injuries, he has dreamed out opening this bakery since earning his PhD in 2008. His vision has been to open a bakery fully staffed by adults with brain injury to support them in return to work, play, and life! Through his involvement with the local (Portland, OR) brain injury community, and a generous grant, this program is finally ready to launch in summer 2017! We launched by starting small and selling our delicious cupcakes at local farmer's markets in 2017 and 2018. In fall 2018, we moved into our brick-and-mortar shop in Multnomah Village in SW Portland. Since the beginning, our focus has been on excellent job-training to produce and sell amazing baked treats. Our bakers, participants, and volunteers learn to implement best practices to support adults with brain injury in job-ready skills. We offer ongoing supports, training, and support for adults with brain injury to experience success, build self-esteem, develop awareness, and implement new techniques to build work-related skills. The goal is to assist adults with brain injury to develop job-ready skills. In addition, graduate students from the fields of speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and other related professions learn through direct experience how brain injury can affect a person's work and communication skills while developing individualized rehabilitation programs to support maximal participation.
