Welcome!

Let us introduce ourselves. We are a Civic Association FokusPraha providing health and social services to people with long-termmental illness for 17 years. We also develop several projectsfocused on making lives of people with mental illness morequality.

We would like to present project ?Social firmdevelopment? on these websites.

This project was supported by ESF in terms of Equal programme.FokusPraha implements it in co-operation with SananimAssociation.

There were two social firms established in terms of thisproject. Social firm Garden, employing peoplewith mental illness and Café Therapy,employing people with drug addiction experience.

During these firms establishment we were coming from experiencewith the first social firm in the , Junuv statek, which is runnedby Fokus Praha for 8 years already. Further we inspired ourselvesby our experience with supported and sheltered employment andexperience from abroad, especially by British social firmmodel.

How we define a social firm?

Social firm is an enterprising subject able to compete andoperate on common market whose aim is to create workingopportunities for people disadvantaged on labour market and providethem reasonable rate of vocational and psycho-social support at thesame time.

Social firm is suitable especially for those disadvantagedpeople with difficult access to labour market and with problems inkeeping a job there.

?I entered social firm Junuv statek in 1999. My formersheltered placement was coming to an end and I did not know what todo. I wanted to work, but I was afraid to enter normal labourmarket. Because I need a professional support which I cannot gainin a non-sheltered job. Without this support I would fear of notmanaging my working tasks and that this could lead to my healthstate deterioration and hospitalization. Luckily my health statehas not deteriorated to such extent requiring hospitalization sinceI started to work in this firm. This is one of main reasons why Iwish to stay in this social firm. Additional advantage of this workis money. I would not be able to pay my rent just from disabilitypension and I would be endangered by ending on the street asa homeless.

During the period I have worked in Junuv statek I havechanged several positions and I learned something new on each ofthem. This is useful not only for my job. Simply, I am satisfied atJunuv statek. ?

Tomá?, cook, social firm Junuv statek.