A new Lawrence-based temporary employment services company is trying to fill a niche in the market by providing job opportunities to area homeless people and others who are down on their luck.

Mike Brady, owner of the recently opened Lawrence Job Service, routinely finds work for homeless people who stay at the Salvation Army shelter.

âÂÂIâÂÂm willing to work with them,â Brady said. âÂÂIf they go out and perform a job, IâÂÂll keep them busy. Everybody needs a second chance.âÂÂ

Brady said he designed the business to appeal to people who sometimes couldnâÂÂt find a job through other temporary employment agencies.

For example, he doesnâÂÂt require applicants to have a phone number or a car, which often are requirements for many jobs. He also doesnâÂÂt require applicants to make long-term commitments. Brady said he usually had jobs that last as little as four hours to as long as several months.

The company also has a payroll program that pays people as often as once a day, which Brady said was important to many of his clients.

âÂÂWith my competitors, you may work for them for one day and not get paid for two weeks,â Brady said. âÂÂI have people come in and say their car is broke down and they need some quick cash, and IâÂÂm able to help those people.âÂÂ

Since he opened the business in mid-August, Brady has worked with about 2,400 applicants. He estimated that only about 25 percent of the people he employed were homeless, while the rest are college students and others between jobs.

But helping the homeless and other people in need was a goal of BradyâÂÂs when he started the company.

âÂÂI wanted to give some people who are down on their luck a second chance,â Brady said. âÂÂI want to get them back on the payrolls.âÂÂ

Paula Gilchrist, director of social services at the Salvation Army, said BradyâÂÂs business was meeting an important need in the community.

âÂÂHeâÂÂs definitely filling a niche,â Gilchrist said. âÂÂMike is really the only one we know of on a consistent basis that we can call and say we have people looking for work.

âÂÂWe have some good people in our shelter. Some of them need a little more flexibility than a 40-hour-a-week job allows. This gives them a chance to get a short-term reward as well as some fast cash. But itâÂÂs more than just the money. It makes a difference in how they feel.âÂÂ

The business is at 833 Ohio in the former offices of the Job Services Center, where Brady worked for 20 years as an employment placement officer.

When the departmentâÂÂs offices moved in 2001 to the new Lawrence Work Force Center on South Iowa Street, Brady began thinking about opening his own business in the Ohio Street location because people seeking work were used to coming there.

âÂÂI saw it as an opportunity to help myself and help people at the same time,â Brady said. âÂÂIâÂÂve always been in public service and I donâÂÂt see this as being much different.âÂÂ

Brady said the business was working out well.

âÂÂWeâÂÂve had really dependable people,â Brady said. âÂÂI weeded some out at the beginning, and we havenâÂÂt had any problems since then.âÂÂ

He fills jobs for small businesses and individuals and provides services that include janitorial, construction, clerical and even basic yard work. He estimated he employed about 30 to 50 people a day, with wages ranging from $7.50 to $10 an hour.