Q&A: Gig Buddies Project Coordinator, Sean Willenberg

Last December, City of Sydney approved $20,000 for the trial of a Gig Buddies program. The proposal by ACL Disability Services pairs people with disabilities with volunteers who accompany them to a late night venue or stay for the entirety of a festival.

Launched in February in Sydney, Gig Buddies was based on a UK scheme by a charity called Stay Up Late. With many carers clocking off by 9pm, 85% of the Sydney Gig Buddies have not been out past 10pm and of that same 85%, have never seen live music.

TMN chats to Gig Buddies Project Coordinator/music producer Sean Willenberg about how Gig Buddies works, what improvements could be made to the disability sector and his plans to take the project national.

How and when did Gig Buddies form?

Gig Buddies Sydney started in October 2014 and we officially launched on 13th February 2015. Gig Buddies has been running in the UK for the last three years through a charity called Stay Up Late based in Brighton in the UK. The founder of Gig Buddies, Paul Richards presented Gig Buddies at a conference in Birmingham, UK in October 2014 and we instantly saw that this program needed to be developed in Australia.

They identified that people with a disability did not have the same privilege and rights that we all take for granted and from working in the disability sector we saw these same rights not being accessible to people with a disability.

How many staff do you have and how many pairings have you made since launching?

We currently have one full time staffer (myself) and have two other staff who volunteer their time to run our social media and organise events and socials for Gig Buddies.

We currently have two pairings with another six pairings in the process. The pairing process can take some time as we want to make sure that the match is as close as possible between the Gig Buddy and the volunteer. We base our pairing on the area that our buddy and volunteer live, their musical tastes, interests, age and many other factors.

What drew you to a career in the non-profit sector?

I have been in the non-profit sector for the last seven years working in ACL disability services and being a music producer, I saw that people with disabilities were not being represented or were an active part of the music industry and did not have the same opportunities and rights that we all take for granted. I wanted to make a difference to someone else’s life and give them the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life and be a part of the live music that Australia has to offer and which we are all entitled to.

What are your views on the sector in relation to music?

I think the disability sector is doing a great job now in relation to music by offering varying areas of study and participation in the music scene but we are limited by the time that support staff work (as most support staff have to finish their shift at 10pm). I feel that there could be improvements by giving staff the opportunity to work later so that someone with a disability can go out and access the live music culture that Sydney and Australia has on offer and to be a part of their community without the barriers of discrimination and segregation. I feel that people with a disability have a right to stay up late and have some fun.

What are some best practices for those wanting to begin a career with a non-profit?

Be open minded, don’t be afraid of what you are signing up for and know that you are making a difference to someone else’s life. Be honest with yourself, know your limits, learn about the disability sector, know what your non-profit stands for, be committed to the cause, get your community involved and most of all have fun!

How are gig tickets and transport paid for? Do you have a partnership with promoters that helps aid this?

Majority of our tickets come from in kind donations from the venues or the bands themselves and transport to and from a venue is by public transport so this is paid for by the volunteer and the Gig Buddy. I am currently working on developing partnerships with promoters and getting them to support the Gig Buddies initiative in any way they can.

A criminal records check needs to be conducted before a volunteer gets the green light, what other processes are in place to protect the people involved in the project?

We follow the safeguarding processes that the disability sector has in place and is part of the disability service standards in the sector. We not only complete a police check (which is a working with vulnerable people check) but we also complete reference checks on a volunteer and interview each volunteer that would like to join Gig Buddies. We do this so that we know that our Gig Buddy is paired with someone who is going to empower them with choice and control and will not take advantage of them.

What kind of training do volunteers receive before taking part?

Our volunteers have one full day of training which covers learning about the sector and the initiative, how to safeguard for someone with a disability, how to deal with scenarios that may arise being a Gig Buddy volunteer and various other bits of information. Once we find a match for our volunteer we then have an initial meeting with their Gig Buddy so that they can get to know each other and organise what their first event is, then we go along to the first event with the Gig Buddy pair and assist the volunteer and Gig Buddy on how to best support each other on a night out.

What’s the feedback from those involved been like?

The feedback that we have received has been really positive from the volunteers and they are looking forward to being matched with their potential buddy. We currently have 25 active volunteers and 20 Gig Buddy members. The Gig Buddies themselves are really keen to meet their volunteer, going out and staying out past 10pm (85% of our Gig Buddies have not been out past 10pm and of that same 85% they have never seen live music).

Gig Buddies operates in Sydney only, are there plans in place to take the project national?

We have received growing interest from other states, territories and also in NSW about expanding Gig Buddies and we are currently in the process of building a business model to assist with this expansion. We hope to set up another Gig Buddy location before the end of 2015.