Activity: training + individually tailored
Traget group: mental health problems
Alondra
The organisation
Alondra is one of the projects of Q-Prints & Service in Germany. Alondra strives to integrate people with handicaps or other major difficulties in finding a job into the labour market. They do so through internships abroad, particularly in Spain and Italy. Participants are first offered a preparatory training, during which they make a job perspective planning, their skills and opportunities are identified, and they receive language training. Then they go abroad for two months, during which they receive more language training, they commit themselves to six weeks of practical internship, and they stay with host families or in an apartment. When the participants return, Alondra offers job application trainings, job seeking guidance, and support for the participants' networking. The project is geared towards people with handicaps who are seeking employment and training and who live in the town Pforzheim, Karlsruhe or in the region Enzkreis. Alondra looks for individual internships for each participant. It is a really wide range e.g. one participant worked in a IT company almost like a normal staff member, while others worked in a garden, elderly care, car workshop, tailoring, painting, kitchen assistant etc. The kind of work depends a lot on the participant's interests, language skills and physical capacity. In all their placements Alondra strives for the work integration of people with handicaps or other major difficulties finding a job, while improving their social participation. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Germany) and the European Social Fund. The future of the project is strictly bound on the funding period, if the funding period is over the project is over, there are no other opportunities to finance the labour force, but the next funding period is planned.
Results
The key results of Alondra are the improvement of participants' self-confidence. It proves (to themselves and the outside world) that they are flexible and willing to learn, and it motivates and activates the participants. Moreover they develop various skills. As the workplace is selected based on the interests of the participant there are many different areas of work and different levels of work, meaning that each individual participant develops different and personally relevant skills. Alondra stimulates the professional development through opportunities for participants to meet each other, and there is a strong focus on planning and future job opportunities to make the project's effects more durable. About 20% of the participants moves on to regular paid employment. However, they tend to get hired on temporary contracts, and it thus remains the question for how long they stay employed. A positive aspect of the project is that it is very well integrated in a professional network and it offers an international exchange opportunity, which is not provided for by any other institution.
More information
Website: www.q-printsandservice.de/de/projekte/alondra.html
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Activity: product sales, commercial, hard skills, low-threshold, gardening/agriculture
TG: drug users
Mudra Berufliche Integration
“We installed a permanent quality management system to ensure the ongoing development of our organisation”
The organisation
Mudra vocational training and employment services is part of Mudra Alternative Jugend- und Drogenhilfe Nürnberg e.V. in Germany. They strive to help drug addicted persons in finding their way back to the job market. In their different projects there are various possibilities for qualified job trainings. They also offer low threshold opportunities to acquire basic competences that are needed in all kinds of jobs. Their goals are not limited to the direct needs of the job market but also include psychosocial counselling and support in other important domains. There is more information about this in the UNODC-Document about Sustained Recovery Management.Mudra's project leader was a member of the working group responsible for the document.
The participants can work for all sorts of projects, such as forestry, a women’s workshop for costumes, jewellery and sewing, cleaning services, cabinet maker’s workshop, gardening and landscaping, a day labour project, and training in business administration. At the time of writing these projects offered work to around 90 participants, and the numbers were increasing over time. The forestry project was founded in 1985, so Mudra has many years of experience in work reintegration. In all their work they aim to improve the situation of recovering drug addicts concerning job integration, connected with psychosocial counselling
About 50% of the Mudra services is financed through the sales of their goods and services. Their offer is quite extensive. To get an impression of what they sell you may visit their online shop (in German) at: http://mudra-shop.de/. The remainder of their financing is through funding from the Employment Agency, State of Bavaria, District government, City of Nuremberg, Integration Office (responsible for job integration of handicapped persons) and some donations.
Results
The key results of Mudra are that they contribute to a reduced crime rate, they reduce relapses, and they help to improve the work competences of their target group. Concerning the last point they do not only assist in the development of basic skills, but they also offer formal gardening and landscaping training as well as business administration. Not many participants move on to regular employment, as the main target group is long-term drug users with multiple problems. On average about 20% moves on, 60% stays on the same level, 20% drops out. In their work they often see younger participants with no work experience and no qualifications, and older participants with increasing health problems, for whom it is hard to move on to regular employment as the current job market has very few opportunities for unqualified, older and less productive peoples. However, through combining their integration programme with psychosocial counselling, and better payment for more challenging jobs, Mudra does manage to motivate the professional development of its participants. In the near future they will focus on the challenges of new drugs, and adapting job offers to older and less fit participants.
More information
Website: www.mudra-online.de
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Activities: food & drinks
TG: drug users
Café Seidenfaden
Café Seidenfaden (silk thread) is an alcohol-and drug-free woman café from the organisation Frau sucht Zukunft in the center of Berlin, near the Hackescher Markt. It is a certified labour and training project for abstinent addicts and otherwise disadvantaged, long-term unemployed women who want to work in the restaurant industry. They offer daily changing lunch menus, a seasonal à la carte menu, homemade cakes, coffee and tea, soft drinks and a variety of fruity non-alcoholic cocktails. We place special emphasis on quality and freshness, we largely avoid flavor enhancers and use local produce as much as possible.
Café Seidenfaden's guests can relax in a pleasant atmosphere and entertain, socialise and enjoy a delicious meal. Saturday is family day.
The café offers work experience, on the job training and employment with additional earnings associated with professional orientation. Gastronomic expertise and professional qualifications as a specialist in hospitality or office clerk can be obtained through entry-level training, retraining and education. When learning and working qualified instructors and trainers support in the kitchen, service, housekeeping, catering, and secretariat. Their particular interest lies in offering a caring working environment and good team work. It is always their goal to expand the number of apprenticeships and jobs, primarily through their full-service catering. Benchmark for all their activities is the satisfaction of their customers and employees .
More information:
Website: http://www.frausuchtzukunft.de/fsz/index.php?page=proj_cafe-seidenfaden
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