Activity: Commercial + product sales + environmentally friendly
Target group: homeless + drug users + mental health problems
Cais
“It is important to develop a structured plan for a project, in short, medium and long terms. We also consider it important to conduct frequent assessment of the plan due to an ever changing context.”
The organisation
The “Cais Recicla” project started in May 2011 through a partnership between a private company (UNICER) and and an NGO (Cais) combining the needs of both parties. For Unicer, it was important to be an environmental friendly company; for CAIS, it was important to respond to the need for job placement and capacity building of the target groups. At Cais Recicla they use waste products for the manufacturing of new design products. After the creative process, the designer of the product provides training to the craftsmen, so they can manufacture the design using their own creative insight. Sometimes they also create or adjust exclusive products for a company or institution, or they work on simple hand-work orders from partners.
The association’s target group are people experiencing poverty and social exclusion. In general, CAIS´ target group includes people living in poverty, who normally have various other social problems. They may not only be ex-homeless, but also have had drug, alcohol and/or psychiatric problems. CAIS works with people that already have accommodation, because they have to have some basic stability and self-esteem to fulfil the work requirements.
The main aim of this project is the social-professional capacity building of people in situations of poverty and social exclusion. Specific objectives of Cais are: 1) to support the development of self-reliance of the target group; 2) to give the target group the possibility to acquire a fair compensation; 3) commercialise the developed products; and 4) obtain the sustainability of the business. So there are two types of objectives: those that are related to the target group and the others related to the business. They have social aims but no prejudices related to business objectives, because those are the ones that allows them to maintain the project and achieve sustainability.
The products are disseminated and marketed through a catalogue. The dissemination strategy is a priority element to be improved in this project. Through the last collection of Ecodesign they contacted a famous person and produced a photography session covered by invited social media. They often refuse invitations to small events because they refuse a “pity perspective” on their work. They want people to pay for their aesthetics and quality with a social contribution bonus.
Results
The public recognition of the project is the best result. This recognition led to the award of the prize to the Programme CAHO (Empowering Today) of the CAIS Association, by the European Economic and Social Committee. Through constant analysis and evaluation of results, various modifications were introduced along the way, such as diversification of the products, enlargement of partnerships, as well as continuous necessary adaptation of the project to the context. Although the concept of the project remains the same, it is essential to think and adapt the project continuously.
The elements of success identified are: the cooperation between those involved and the combined efforts working on a shared goal, the excellent quality and recognition of the products, and the recognition and appreociation of the work done by all the people in the project.
More information
Website: www.cais.pt
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Activity: hard skills + product sales + gardening/agriculture
TG: drug users
Dianova
Organization
The plant nursery and the Viveiros Dianova greenhouse are part of Dianova, an NGO specialised in drug and alcohol treatment and certified training, in Portugal. Since April 2000, this social enterprise works on sustainable and social goals through the employment and empowerment of 13 people. They are specialised in the production of plants and flowers. The social enterprise hires people that have completed a drug and alcohol rehab programme, 45+ unemployed people, or those without higher education or professional qualifications and experience, as well as socially vulnerable peoples. At the workplace the employees have regular 8 hour workdays, during which everyone works according to their own capacity. The employees are responsible for the growth and production of plants and flowers, ranging from seeding, plant nourishment, to the final sale of the product. Of the 13 employees, 8 have already become regular staff members and 5 are in the process of a 2-year training in general professional skills as well as floriculture specifics. Since its foundation the social enterprise has benefited 52 people. For all these people the overall aim was to increase their professional capabilities and so stimulating social reintegration on the regular labour market. Moreover, the sales of Dianova's plants increases the NGOs revenue and sustainability in the long term. The 5 specialised work places are co-subsidized for a 2-year period frame by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and its sustainable goal relies on the sales of the produced plants and flowers to the national Portuguese market.
Results
All in all the social enterprise has reintegrated 52 people socio-professionally. They have done so through empowerment, the teaching of social and professional skills, advocacy for equal opportunities and the promotion of self-employment. At the workplace the employees learn new social and relational soft skills (team work, self esteem, conflict management, time management, autonomy reinforcement) as well as hard skills (greenhouse/ stove maintenance, plants and plagues biology, plant trimming, garden plants and house plants, main rules for care of plants). These skills are taught through various ways, namely: psychosocial support, training sessions throughout the year on soft and hard skills, as well as corporate celebrations designed to increase employee engagement. Although reduced financial support has made it difficult to hire a manager that can make the enterprise more profitable and the outcome of the work is dependent of the weather, the enterprise has turned out to be rather successful. Not only have they been running for more than 13 years, they have also benefited more than 50 highly disadvantaged individuals, and have constantly adapted to the changing market needs. Thus, in the years to come they will continue to optimise their efficiency and effectiveness of the enterprise, hoping to maintain their level of employees and increase their revenue.
More information
Website: www.dianova.pt
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Activity: peer involvement, training
TG: drug users, (ex) offenders
InPAR
“Through the collection and systematisation of data, our process and outcome results proved the efficacy of peer workers. This was used in our advocacy for their recognition and for building relationships of trust between organisations/teams and peers.”
Organization
InPAR was a two-year project run by the Portuguese NGO APDES, from August 2009 until July 2011. InPAR was an experimental project at national level in the area of professional and social reintegration aimed at unemployed people who use drugs, but motivated to work. The project was worked on in close cooperation with harm reduction interventions. It was anchored in action-research principles, with participative methodologies playing a crucial role in the process of implementation and evaluation of the project. The project was implemented in the north of Portugal and studied/developed a reintegration methodology in socio-professional responses for people who use drugs, namely through peer work. The overall aim was to highlight the facilitating factors and obstacles in this process of integration and identifying good practices/recommendations for future projects. Regarding the integration of drug users as peer workers the objectives were the following: Integrate 8 drug users in outreach teams and facilitate their bio-psycho-social stabilisation; Offer training and follow up for these persons as peer workers; Facilitate conditions for the integration of peer educators into the outreach teams, as well as into their supporting organisations; Develop a professional and social reintegration methodology, identifying facilitating factors and obstacles for the integration of drug users as peer workers; Contribute to the recognition of the profession of peer worker.
This project was the starting point of two other projects, namely:
- PREVIH, integration of Sex Workers as Peer Educators in Harm Reduction Projects. APDES is responsible for the training of the sex workers, implementation and adaptation of the peer educator’s integration model on sex work intervention (together with Porto University);
- Vanguarda, a prevention Project in a Prison, aimed to train and develop a peer education methodology inside a prison.
Results
The main conclusions achieved by InPAR are brought together in the manual "O Trabalho primeiro" [Working First - Manual for Employability of Drug Users and Recommendations for Integration through Peer Education]. This manual was published in June 2012 and since then 300 copies have been disseminated through the project partners, national outreach teams, universities and professional training resource centres.
The main results showed a relevant change of the situation in Portugal: 4 peers integrated with formal contract with the organisation after the project end, and 2 peers were doing voluntary work (10 Peers were followed throughout the project); increased recognition of the peer workers' contributions to Outreach Teams; Policy impact suggested by the firm commitment from the public funder to study/adopt criteria for applications evaluation where the inclusion of a Peer Worker in the outreach team can be valued; Creation of a methodology for promoting the employability of drug users, particularly in Peer Work, through identification of key factors (obstacles and facilitators) for integration.
The model developed by InPAR was implemented in a project held in the prison context, with prisoners as peer educators, and in a project involving outreach teams that intervene in the sex work area, with sex workers as peer workers. Also, the model lends itself for further distribution in other countries and/or settings, for instance by using the previously mentioned manual as a training tool.
More information
Website: http://www.apdes.pt/en/project_inpar.php
or http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index52035EN.html?project_id=01PT10&tab=overview
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