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Association for the Physically Disabled
Association for the Physically Disabled

  • Real support. 
    ​Clear pathways. 
    ​Everyday impact.

    Support looks different for every person. APD offers practical services that help individuals and families access care, guidance, mobility, and opportunity.

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Our Services

From care and counselling to mobility and employment support, APD offers practical services that help remove barriers in everyday life.

Not sure where to start?

Some people come to APD because they need support at home. Some need help with social grants, identity documents, school applications, or assistive devices. Some are looking for wheelchair access during recovery or a period of reduced mobility. Others are looking for work, or want help building a more inclusive workplace.


Whatever the starting point, APD’s services are designed to make support more practical, more accessible, and easier to understand. If you are not sure which service is right for you, APD can help guide you to the best next step.

Our numbers speak...

APD’s services are rooted in real, on-the-ground work across Greater Johannesburg. 


In the 2024/25 reporting year, the social work division reached 784 direct beneficiaries and 2,976 indirect beneficiaries, while Home-Based Care supported 347 beneficiaries. 


Social work teams conducted 843 home visits and 398 counsellingsessions during the same period. These figures help show the scale of APD’s practical day-to-day support.

Social Work Services

Guidance, advocacy, and practical support for people with physical disabilities and their families.


APD’s Social Work Services help people with physical disabilities and their families navigate some of the practical, emotional, and social challenges that can make daily life harder. 


The aim is not only to respond to immediate difficulties, but also to help people access the support, documents, services, and pathways they need to move forward with greater clarity and confidence.

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This support can include help with social grant applications, identity documents, school applications, bursary applications, residential placement questions, unemployment-related concerns, workman’s compensation matters, family support, and access to assistive devices. APD’s social work team also provides psychosocial support, helping individuals and families navigate situations that can feel overwhelming when support is difficult to find.


The service also extends into the community through education, awareness work, and support-based programmes in clinics, hospitals, organisations, and community spaces. In 2024/25, the social work team delivered 24 education and awareness sessions that reached 3,429 people, alongside casework, counselling, home visits, assessments, and referrals.

Social Work Services matter because the barriers people face are often not only physical. They can also be administrative, financial, emotional, social, or systemic. APD’s role is to help people and families make sense of those barriers and find a more supported way through them.


Who this service may help


This service may help people with physical disabilities or mobility impairments, as well as families and support systems who need practical guidance, advocacy, or psychosocial support. APD’s social work services currently operate across Regions B, E, and F, including areas such as Westbury, Sophiatown, Newlands, Slovoville, Alexandra, Diepsloot, Turffontein, Rosettenville, and Johannesburg.


Social Work by the numbers


In 2024/25, APD social work staff handled 49 intakes, conducted 72 assessments, completed 843 home visits, delivered 398 counselling sessions, and supported 784 direct beneficiaries. They also facilitated wheelchair donations and practical support such as food parcels and clothing donations.


Contact this team


Social Work Supervisor: Meriam Malatji

011 646 8331 ext. 209

comservicessupervisor@apdjhb.co.za

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Home-Based Care Services

In-home care and practical daily support for people who need hands-on assistance.


APD’s Home-Based Care Services provide practical, in-home support for people who are temporarily or permanently disabled, as well as those who are bedridden and need help with daily care. The service is designed to support comfort, dignity, hygiene, and wellbeing in the place where care is often needed most, at home.

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APD’s Home-Based Care programme was developed after social workers identified urgent community need among people living without basic care or support. Today, the service helps people who cannot manage daily tasks independently, and supports both short-term recovery and longer-term care needs.


This support can include assistance with bathing, dressing, transfers, massage, light meal preparation, feeding, treatment and prevention of pressure sores, basic exercises, and training for family members who help provide care. The service is practical by design, focused on what people need in everyday life rather than abstract promises.


Home-Based Care matters because daily support needs do not pause when access is limited or circumstances are difficult. For many individuals and families, having the right care in place at home can make a meaningful difference to health, dignity, comfort, and family stability. APD’s service helps make ongoing care more accessible, more human, and more manageable for the people who rely on it.

Who this service may help


This service may help adults with temporary or permanent physical disabilities who need practical assistance at home, as well as families who need support caring for a loved one. APD’s Home-Based Care service operates across Greater Johannesburg, including Alexandra, Soweto, and Tembisa.


Home-Based Care by the numbers


In 2024/25, APD supported 347 beneficiaries through Home-Based Care. During the same period, 85 people were assessed, 52 were taken on board, 15 beneficiaries improved enough to become independent and exit the service, and 120 family members received training to support care at home. APD also provided assistive support including 13 wheelchairs, 230 food parcels, and other practical donations.


Contact this team


Johannesburg, including Alexandra:

Xolile Msibi

011 646 8331 ext. 204

supervisorJHBHBC@apdjhb.co.za


Tembisa:

Stellah Madi

076 100 1932 / 082 087 3796


Soweto:

Tebogo Itumeleng

063 057 4190

Recruitment

Connecting job seekers with opportunities, and helping employers build more inclusive workplaces.


APD’s Recruitment service helps connect people with physical disabilities to meaningful work opportunities, while also supporting employers who want to build more inclusive, accessible workplaces. It is a practical service designed to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity in a way that benefits both job seekers and organisations.

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Also referred to in some source material as Barrier Breakers Recruitment, this service works with a broad range of candidates, from entry-level learnerships and internships to highly skilled and qualified professionals. APD helps match candidates’ skills, experience, and qualifications with employer needs, making the recruitment process more intentional and more inclusive.


Recruitment support can also include practical guidance for employers around accessibility, reasonable accommodation, disability awareness, and inclusive workplace support. In APD’s wider service framework, Barrier Breakers also helps employers think through accommodation and diversity issues in a practical way, rather than treating inclusion as a box-ticking exercise.


This service matters because employment can expand independence, stability, and opportunity, but access to work is still shaped by barriers that many people with disabilities face every day. APD’s role is to help reduce those barriers in practical ways, by supporting both the person looking for work and the employer looking to build a stronger, more inclusive team.


Who this service may help


This service may help job seekers with physical disabilities, employers wanting to hire more inclusively, and organisations that need support around accessibility, accommodation, and disability inclusion in the workplace.


Contact this team


Recruitment and Commercial Services:

Lorna Arnott

011 646 8331 ext. 230

lornaa@apdjhb.co.za


Recruitment email:

Recruitment@apdjhb.co.za

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Wheelchair Rental

Practical mobility support when access cannot wait. 


APD’s Wheelchair Rental service offers a practical mobility solution for people who need access to a wheelchair, whether for short-term recovery, temporary support, or a longer period of use. The service is available to individuals as well as to private and public sector organisations, making it one of APD’s clearest and most immediately useful support offerings.

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Mobility affects almost every part of daily life. When the right equipment is not available, everyday tasks can become harder, slower, and more limiting than they need to be. Wheelchair Rental helps people respond to immediate needs with more confidence and less delay, while also giving organisations a practical option when accessible equipment is needed.


Kept simple, this service is about improving access in a practical way. It helps people move through daily life with greater ease, supports families during periods of recovery or change, and extends APD’s wider commitment to dignity, inclusion, and everyday independence.


Who this service may help


This service may help individuals recovering from illness, surgery, or injury, people who need temporary or longer-term mobility support, and organisations that need wheelchair access for staff, visitors, patients, or clients.


Rental details


According to APD’s current source material, individual rentals are listed at a refundable R500 deposit and R400 per month, while business rentals are listed at a refundable R1,000 deposit and R500 per month, subject to wheelchair return in good condition and up-to-date payments. These details should be checked before publishing to make sure they are still current.


Contact this team


Wheelchair Rental:

Jan Madisha

JanM@apdjhb.co.za

011 646 8331

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” 
​- Helen Keller.

Service in action

Practical support matters most when it helps someone move forward in everyday life.


After being referred to APD for Home-Based Care, Mr Louis Nkosi received regular support with exercise, personal care, psychosocial support, and wheelchair transfer training. Even after a stroke in 2022, APD continued to support his rehabilitation. By November that year, he had regained partial mobility and was using a walker, a meaningful step towards greater independence. His story reflects the steady, practical support at the heart of APD’s services.

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