Annual Report 21 Vägen ut! kooperativen (The Way out! co-operatives) Do not offer square solutions to all because some people are round
Social reformers Vägen ut! kooperativen focus on what is not functioning in the welfare society and transform its shortfalls into opportunities. By innovative thinking, we contribute to solve societal problems, while developing new social enterprises. The consortium model gives us a dynamic strength that is unique to social enterprises. During the past year, we surpassed SEK 3 million in turnover, we opened several new businesses; Le Mat Bed & Breakfast, Lärjeån Kafé & Trädgård (gardening), Vägen ut! Bygg & Fastighetsservice (building services) and Gröna tjänster (green services). We welcomed 25 new co-workers. We do not think that being alone gives strength. That is why we are networking in Göteborg, in Sweden, in Europe. We identify common goals in order for everyone to become a winner. Our knowledge is increasingly in demand. Vägen ut! is highlighted as a good example both at national and European level. We were invited by the thematic group entrepreneurship and enterprise run by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth to Almedalen (the largest yearly Swedish political event held on the island of Gotland). The Chief Executive of Vägen ut! Pernilla Svebo Lindgren talked about how social enterprise is a pathway into work. ENTERPRISES FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD Vägen ut! kooperativen (The Way out! co-operatives) are composed by15 social enterprises with a turnover of SEK 3 million a year. We are more than 9 co-workers. Many of us have gone from receiving social benefits to become social entrepreneurs. More than 2 people are involved in our daily activities. Our co-operatives are found in several parts of Sweden. All of them have a twofold mission. We sell services and products. We create employment for people who are excluded from the regular labour market. www.vagenut.coop PICTURE FRONT PAGE Pernilla Svebo Lindgren, Chief Executive Vägen ut! kooperativen PICTURE THIS PAGE T-shirt from YScreen PHOTO Anna Rehnberg, Lina Lundberg, Isolde Berner, Lars Björk and Johan Wingborg LAY OUT Pia Silver, PWR Communication COPY Malin Kennerud, Kennerud Kommunikation & Processledning outside both of the labour market and the community for long. We look forward to be at Almedalen this year. Chairman of Vägen ut! Elisabet Mattsson will give a speech about the conditions of developing social enterprises. Social enterprise is a growth industry. Everyone agrees that they enrich both the community and the labour market. They are primarily a matter of enterprise policy. We know from experience that there has always been a lack of financial support. To start and develop social enterprises in Sweden today project funding from the European Social Fund is a prerequisite. This is not a good solution! If we want Sweden to have more viable social enterprises, we must together find solutions to the financial issue. One of our staff summarizes the past year, Elsewhere, it is the replay of replay. Here it is development. A person on job training with us is working 1 percent of her or his own capacity. For most people this is very little in the beginning. Gradually we see with delight and confidence that his/her capability and empowerment increase. That is not a coincidence. The vocational rehabilitation offered in our social enterprises work very well for people who have been Pernilla Svebo Lindgren, Chief Executive, and Elisabet Mattsson, Chairman, Vägen ut! kooperativen 3
21 in brief CHAIN REACTION LE MAT B&B GOTHENBURG CITY Many of us have experienced social exclusion. In order to gain a foothold in society requires that all parts of your life function. We think the same when we grow. Our businesses are created as a response to the needs we experience. Often something is missing. For us it is natural to develop the missing link. A stone s throw from green rabbits, fresh shrimps and a naked Poseidon the doors finally opened. The hotel has 13 rooms, a breakfast room overlooking the rooftops and is located close to the main street of the city, Avenyn. Its Italian roots go back to Trieste, where the first Le Mat started more than 15 years ago. Le Mat is disseminated through social franchising. Sleep with a clear conscience. CAREER ASSISTANCE GIVES JOBS People furthest away from regular work often fall through the cracks. This is expensive both for people and society. This is not okay! Therefore, we, along with Coompanion (co-operative development agency) and samordningsförbunden (Joint local councils coordinating different social benefits) in Göteborg, developed the model Career sup- Villa Vägen ut! Solberg. BEST LIVING We are among the best HVB homes (institutional care and treatment) in the country. That has been showed in an evaluation made by Skandinavisk sjukvårdsinformation (Scandinavian health information) based on assessments from the placement authorities. There is incredible warmth. They look to the resources of the clients rather than their weaknesses. They engage so that the clients can get back to work and return to society in the best way after the placement. City of Borås Villa Vägen ut! are currently found in Sundsvall, Östersund, Örebro, Göteborg and Säve. Chains we built during the year: Chain to accommodate people who have given up drugs and crime. Pathway-to-work-chain for people who are furthest away from the labour market. Chain of passage from institution to work. In the project Att ta vid (to take on), we built a chain where youngsters living in an institution can experience screen printing, develop skills in entrepreneurship and connect with our social enterprise YScreen, which takes on outside the institution. port, a pathway-to work in social enterprise. This model allows people who are furthest away from the labour market to get a job. Of the 4 people who completed a oneyear job training in social entrepreneurship 27 already found an employment. TRAINING SWEDISH SOCIAL ENTERPRISES Vägen ut! organises courses for Swedish social enterprises in job training and work rehabilitation on behalf of SKOOPI (Swedish federation of social worker co-operatives). The training is about value-based entrepreneurship, empowerment, mentoring, motivation and co-operation with authorities. We take on. FIRST IN SWEDEN One link of the chain between the halfway house / treatment centre and an own apartment for people who have given up drugs and crime is missing. Loneliness is a threat when you try to build a new life. Therefore it was natural to develop Vägen vidare (The Way forward) a living accommodation of passage that combines the individual and the collective. We are first in Sweden with this new model of supported living, The Way Sales at Lärjeån Kafé & Trädgård. RESEARCHERS GAVE GOLDEN STAR The project Vägen vidare (Further along the road) was examined by Sweden s leading researchers insocial work on behalf of the National Board of Health and Welfare. Verner Denvall, Associate Professor at Lund University, highlighted our project for homeless people as a particularly good example, Vägen ut! combines social assistance with work integration of these people. On the radio Denvall said, There are structural problems that the municipalities themselves cannot handle. That is why collaboration between the state, local and regional authorities and businesses like Vägen ut! is necessary. 4 forward, for both men and women. Vägen vidare (The Way forward) Trulsegård. 5
Key features 21 Won a contract to run Lärjeån Kafé & Trädgårdar. A garden for all that live in Göteborg, open year round with a café, culture activities, conference and catering services. Sales of subscriptions ecological vegetables and options to pick flowers on the farm, Ängås. Visits to prisons Karins Döttrar made 4 creative and motivational visits to women in custody. Started KvinnoKrami together with the Public Employment Service, the Prisons and Probations Service and the City of Göteborg. Göteborg is now on the map alongside with Stockholm and Malmö to implement this initiative. Welcomed 123 people on study visits from Malmö, Stockholm, Italy and other places. A new feather in the cap was Vägen ut! Bygg & Fastighetsservice (building services). Became experts 1 Elisabet Mattsson is a member of Välfärdsutvecklingsrådet a committee that gives advice to the government on matters relating to quality and development of welfare in healthcare and social services. 2 Pernilla Svebo Lindgren is a member of the Social Economy Council of the City of Göteborg. 3 Elisabet Mattsson was expert to the European Economic and Social Committee when drafting an opinion on proposals for effective partnership in the EU s structural funds. Manifested in Iceland with 5 people. Nordiska Kvinnor Mot Våld (Nordic Council of Women Against Violence) assembles every year Women s Help lines in the Nordic countries. Completed MI training 74 employees completed their training in motivational interview MI. Vägen ut! spoke on social enterprise and empowerment from prison to employment at the Nordic correctional treatment conference. Sales and earnings s 35, 3, 25, 2, 15, 1, 5, Net sales 1, SEK Number of enterprises and co-workers s 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The community saves s 1, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 4, 35, 3, 25, 2, 15, 1, 5, Profits after financial items 1, SEK Number of enterprises Employment incentives 1, SEK Social allowances 1, SEK Socio-economic earnings s Number of co-workers Sickness benefits 1, SEK Total community savings Socio-economic earnings 1, SEK The socio-economic earnings are based upon the methods developed by the economists Ingvar Nilsson and Anders Wadeskog on behalf of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth Tillväxtverket. Earnings consist of reduced social costs and the production value of the enterprise. Socio-economic earnings in 21 Vägen ut! has a high and stable growth rate; from 5 enterprises in 25 to 15 enterprises in 211. During the same period, we have created 69 new jobs. Over the past five years we have increased our turnover from SEK 6 million to SEK 32 million. The benefits of our entrepreneurship are several, not least human and socio-economic. Vägen ut! kooperativen Number of firms 5 6 6 8 1 15 Number of co-workers 21 26 29 33 45 7 Paid municipal taxes 1, SEK 843 1,43 1,116 1,324 1,85 2,88 Vägen ut! Economic development Net sales 1, SEK 5,884 8,91 9,215 1,558 21,535 32,174 Profits after financial items 1, SEK 188 54 65 732 1,433 3,231 Community savings Employment incentives 1, SEK 774 978 1,59 1,222 1,671 2,648 Sickness benefits 1, SEK 999 1,262 1,367 1,578 2,156 3,418 Social allowances 1, SEK 962 1,216 1,318 1,519 2,77 3,292 Total community savings 2,735 3,456 3,744 4,319 5,94 9,358 CSR Corporate social responsibility More and more private companies are taking a greater social responsibility. By purchasing goods and services from businesses with social objectives private firms can make a difference. Examples of CSR are to book a conference at Lärjeåns Kafé & Trädgårdar or to stay overnight at Le Mat B&B Göteborg City. Dem Collective runs a clothing profit-making company but without exploiting people and environment. They think that development aid and charity maintain bad structures. Dem Collective has deliberately chosen to work with YScreen, one of the co-operatives of Vägen ut!. Their customers may choose between two options, a conventional printing or YScreen. Those who purchase YScreen get added value. The School of Music and Drama at the University of Göteborg is one of Dem Collective customers who have chosen YScreen and will continue doing so. It is not a difficult choice. The process has worked well. YScreen s activities fit well with ours. Samhällsekonomisk vinst Socio-economic earnings 1,39 13,22 14,17 16,278 22,246 35,266 6 Greenhouse at Lärjeåns Kafé & Trädgårdar. 7
We have got bats in the belfry, drug abuse in our baggage, criminal thoughts, disabilities, stress symptoms and 15 social enterprises with a turnover of SEK 3 million a year. Welcome to contact us! Vägen ut! kooperativen Stigbergsliden 5B SE-414 63 Göteborg, Sweden vagenut@vagenut.coop www.vagenut.coop + 46 31 711 61 5