Breakaway Toowoomba began in 1986 when a group of parents united to provide respite services for families of children with a disability.

DISABILITY SUPPORT IN TOOWOOMBA
Breakaway began when a group of parents united to provide a respite service for families of children with a disability in Toowoomba and nearby regions.

This service was run by parents who volunteered their time, until funding became available from the Commonwealth Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services.

The organisation was instrumental in expanding the focus from centre-based group support to an individual community-based approach. Prior to this time respite resources were severely limited and rural families were often disadvantaged by their distance to support.

In July 2004, the organisation changed its name from Manuka to Breakaway Toowoomba Inc. or Breakaway as it is known today. Since this time, the organisation has continued to evolve and grow, resulting in more services being made available to a greater number of people with a disability and their families.

Breakaway was first granted certification in February 2007. This certified that Breakaway demonstrated compliance with the Human Services Quality Framework and indicated to our workers, clients and community that they were able to feel confident about the standard and quality of support that they would receive.

Since 1986 Breakaway have gone from strength to strength, expanding our client base to include all the services we offer today.
DISABILITY SUPPORT IN TOOWOOMBA
In early 2008 Breakaway purchased 1500 sq metres of land at 461B Bridge Street to build a purpose built fully accessible respite facility.

The culmination of an 8-year project ‘Breakaway on Bridge' was officially opened in March 2015. BoB (as it is affectionately known) has 5 beds including a semi-independent unit for clients and 1 bed for workers, as well as a large room for day respite and training.

In November 2009, Breakaway launched an innovative accommodation service to support adults with a disability with older parent carers for 24 hours a day. This service offered exciting opportunities for independent living at the time and continues to this day. The key characteristics of this service include an appropriate level of support and a structured program of life and social skills development, promoting independence by empowering individuals through a person-centred, strength-based approach.

In 2019, Breakaway opened our first Specialised Disability Accommodation house where we assist clients with high support needs. Our service enables participants to live independently with support where required, to manage their home and activities of daily living. We now have numerous independent living options and accommodation services, in and out of home support.