Case Studies – Public Sector benefits
Introduction: Social Enterprise East of England, SEEE, is a network of social enterprises, advice and support organisations, local authorities and other groups with interests in Social Enterprise – particularly in its promotion and development. It covers the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The Eastern Region has some outstanding examples of social enterprise and innovative approaches to providing the sector with advice, support and funding. The SEEE network has been established to promote, celebrate and share these successes and assist in implementing best practice throughout the Region. Are you interested in the development of Social Enterprise in the East of England? Would you like to know more about the services available? Would you like to get in touch with other social enterprises? Would you like the opportunity to influence policy in social enterprise? For an informal discussion on how SEEE may be able to help you, contact
InTouch SOCIAL ENTERPRISE EAST OF ENGLAND
Case Studies – Public Sector Benefits There is growing government interest in using social enterprises to provide public services. Enterprises may arise independently or be a spin-off from the public sector. The social and economic benefits of this approach to service
provision can be considerable. Two contrasting examples are given here, one of w was used as an example of evaluating social benefits in economic terms, both retaining the central social enterprise ethos of supporting and developing their people.
Building on success: Emmaus Cambridge saves
taxpayer £600K a year
Peter See Development Manager, Social Enterprise East of England T: 01727 813401 peters@exemplas.com
Internet: SEEE’s Web partner services are at: www.nearbuyou.co.uk www.socialenterprise-east.org.uk The SEEE network is co-ordinated by Business Link Hertfordshire InTouch is financed by SEEE (funded by the European Social Fund ) and published in its support by Business for People in partnership with Creative Touch, both of which are social enterprises. Layout by Michele Smith.
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© SEEE 2005
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ew research undertaken by Cambridge University – launched on 25th March to a packed audience at the House of Commons and later that day in Cambridge – has identified that Emmaus Communities offer large social and economic benefits both in the context of homelessness services and as social enterprises. They concluded that reduced costs to the Health Service and the criminal justice system together with assistance given to other charities, is of the order of £600,000 per annum, representing a direct saving to the Treasury and, ultimately, the taxpayer. The Emmaus movement was founded by a French priest known by his resistance code name “Abbé Pierre”. The first Community was set up in France in 1949 to
meet the needs of people made homeless by World War II. The concept was brought to the UK in 1990 and Emmaus Cambridge was the first of eleven Communities to be founded in this country. The research was funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) to help demonstrate the contribution social enterprises like Emmaus make to the region’s economy.
More than just self-supporting
Emmaus Communities offer homeless people a practical way in which they can move from homelessness and dependency on state benefit to taking responsibility for their own lives through working in selfsupporting Communities. “No one in an Emmaus ➜ page 4
Case studies
Escaping from the public funding straitjacket by Sarah Charters
T
hey may look like a couple of aging rockers (although one used to be a mod), but the energy, enthusiasm and sense of pride for the Hollies and everything it stands for couldn’t have been more obvious. Greeted with beaming smiles and cheeky wit, Kenny Summers (Assistant Manager) and Richard Ambury (Acting Company Secretary) certainly made me feel welcome.
Positive empowerment
The Hollies was set up five years ago to continue the work of an occupational therapy department from the now closed psychiatric unit of St. Clements hospital in Ipswich. Whilst the physical surroundings, machinery and culture of occupation as a therapy were retained, today the drive is to get people integrated into the community, not institutionalized. A more proactive model than the traditional set up, the Hollies’ ethos has always been about empowerment. Designed to help those who suffer from mental ill health, its pivotal aim is recovery, training and providing new skills where people (not patients) are encouraged to get back into the work habit and thus gainful employment. Kenny Summers, Assistant Manager for 4 years (a carpenter who ran a business for 10 years), admitted he feels a real sense of purpose working in such a positive environment. “I can do the business aspect, the work is stimulating and I get to witness people getting better”. With no medical therapy provided, people (or “the guys” as they’re called) are not known by their illness but their name. Instead of being told what to do, where to sit and when to go for breaks, they’re asked where they want to be. What can they offer us? What talents do they have? The tiniest bit of skill is teased out and providing they want to work and take part in the recovery process, staff will give them all the support they need. As part of a reward s everyone who attends their sessions receives a incentive payment and many go on to become full-time employees. By taking on responsibility and making decisions, there is a sense of feeling revalued by the community. As Kenny explained, the difference “is sometimes really quite dramatic”.
Transition to independence
Currently running eight separate businesses, the Hollies’ current and most ambitious undertaking is to break away from under the NHS umbrella and aim for independence and self sufficiency. The firm’s manager, Jeremy Beckett, realized it was the right time to make this transition, and set about recruiting help from a number of organisations. Peter See, then with Suffolk ACRE, now development manager of SEEE was consulted, and suggested setting up
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Case Studies – Public Sector benefits
Breaking away two companies limited by guarantee, creating one from under the NHS as a registered charity and the other as a trading umbrella, the Hollies arm of the organization. The charity would allow Garden Centre plans to achieve independence the business to raise funds through public events and self-sufficiancy. (which the NHS is not allowed to do) and provide great flexibility in terms of what can be done with the monies raised. Income received via the charity would therefore sustain the day-to-day running of the business and enhance the services it provides. Working tirelessly towards this transition is Richard Ambury. A member of the Hollies project team and specialist advisor for the NHS Trust for the past seven years, he describes himself as “The greaser who oils the wheels”. Proudly announcing they are on the brink of achieving independence, Richard anticipates complete self sufficiency within the next two years. With the aid of their agent, Co-operatives UK in Manchester, they expect to be registered before June. “These The “experts” said it was not possible are really exciting times” he to build a successful business on a explained. “It will enable us to hospital site, but the Hollies has proven get away from labeling people them wrong. Admitting it’s been an a mentally ill, be more socially enormous challenge, Kenny described inclusive in our outlook and how taking on a site where the patients help break down stigma, (as they were then called) had separate helping us better engage with toilets and strict rules, staff had uniforms the community.” and doors were locked for protection, Suffolk ACRE and the three can be a scary concept. One member Primary Care Trusts (PCT ) of staff who had a really hard time in Suffolk have provided accepting this transition took two years the Hollies with invaluable to come to terms with it, but afterward exper tise, with the PCTs admitted Kenny was right. He could a g re e i n g i n p r i n c i p a l t o see the results, was a lot happier and underwrite their expected received greater job satisfaction. trading deficit for about 18
Overcoming a major challenge
Case studies months. The PCTs will also pay the wages of the former NHS staff and cover the costs of the premises, allowing the separation from the Health Trust (who previously provided all revenue contributions). The membership of the boards for the two companies will be divided equally between staff, service users and interested members from the community (who have appropriate expertise). The Hollies team not only considers this a unique concept but a vital one.
A recipe for success
So successful is the Hollies initiative that this little corner of the St. Clements site is buzzing. Last year the business turned over £176,000 (100% through trading) increasing from £25,000 3 years ago, whilst an optimistic growth pattern of approx 35% per annum is predicted. With a team of approximately 100, the workforce generates skilled carpentry, producing quality, madeto-order garden and domestic furniture alongside exquisite hand-painted silk wall hangings, cushions and cards. Commissions are undertaken. Light industrial packing and administration services are also provided, whilst The Pavilion Café offers visitors a warm and welcoming atmosphere. An array of culinary delights and refreshments are waitress served throughout the day, 7 days a week. Actively supporting goodwill trading, the shop is an Aladdin’s cave of competitively priced materials and carvings from Africa and Asia. The Garden Centre supplies customers with value-for-money plants, outdoor paving slabs, a garden and landscaping service and large sculptured features for the creative gardener. These include tables and seating sculptured into abstract works of art from the amazingly shaped roots of Balinese trees. Such items sell extremely
Lunchtime in the well with many of the large pieces selling for around Pavillion Café – always £700. Profits are reinvested back into the business, busy with customers enabling staff to be employed where appropriate. from the hospital and community With so much potential, it’s hardly surprising dropping in for food the business now trades via numerous satellite or light refreshments businesses around Ipswich and plans to lease the throughout the day building and surrounding grounds. By providing extra car parking and outdoor eating areas the aim is to make the site more visible, encourage a greater number of visitors and generate positive word of mouth publicity. Not something I consider this social firm has anything to worry about. My friends already know of this wonderful place and can’t wait to experience its warm, relaxing vibe. Once they have, I’m sure they’ll agree such business success is not down to luck, but great foresight. Why am I so convinced? Well if you have Hollies Enterprises Ltd to ask, as one customer did, “So Tel: 01473 329463 Fax: 01473 329095 which ones are the patients?” the Email: david.apps@lhp.nhs.uk answer is clear!
Case Study – Martin Flory aged 28
Martin Flory’s warm smile and polite disposition makes him a pleasure to be with. Especially useful for his voluntary stints in the Hollies shop every Saturday. Pictured Martin Flory and Ian Brown (Team leader) in the woodworking workshop
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Learning to cook for himself at the age of 14, Martin Flory began a career in catering in 1997. Working across the country, including a top-notch hotel in London, the hours were long and arduous. Martin accepted this was all part of the job, but when false accusations and bullying became a regular occurrence, things started to change. Moving from job to job, his dreams turned into dissolution and Martin’s confidence and self-belief dwindled. In a run of bad luck, Martin received a slash to the face in a mugging, was burgled in his home, and his granddad died. Family problems left him with little hope of support and Martin began to feel a black cloud hanging over him. No matter where he went, he felt like nothing was working out. Martin had many layers of negative experiences to deal with such as seeing his grandmother – who was like a mother to him – die in front of him while he was young. Today, it’s a different story. Since being referred to the Hollies, Martin’s love of making things has given him something both practical and rewarding to do. So much so he’s now studying a two-year City and Guilds Cabinet Maker Progression Award level II at college. Recently nominated and elected to join the Shadow Board as a director, Martin intends to use his qualification to become a full-time teacher at the Hollies. Martin wants to make a difference and help others like himself. As he explained, “The team saw I had potential, they had plans for me and that’s when they suggested college. The Hollies is a great, wonderful place to be in. They don’t put you down; they treat you as a person and respect you.”
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Case Studies – Public Sector benefits
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Case studies Community gets a handout – they work and work hard for their bed and board,” says Tim Page, director of Emmaus UK. The Emmaus Cambridge Community is not just self-supporting. It also makes an annual surplus which it donates to other charities. People once considered by society as worthless and a drain on resources are now supporting themselves and helping other disadvantaged people through their own hard work. The Cambridge University research team, headed by Professor Christine Whitehead used the Emmaus Cambridge Community as the basis for their study and found that: • Emmaus Communities fit the model of Social Enterprise: they rely on an enterprise orientated approach; they have specific social aims beyond providing accommodation, including capacity building for individuals experiencing poverty, exclusion and homelessness; and they are very much autonomous social organisations. • Emmaus Communities are involved in three types of social enterprise. They provide a good standard of accommodation for Companions (as the residents are known); they deliver a high level of support to these Companions; and all Companions are involved in productive activities such as recycling and furniture businesses. • The Emmaus Community at Cambridge is seen as the ‘flagship’ Community because of its longevity, management consistency and financial independence. It provides 30 (24 at the time the research was conducted) accommodation units, together with support services, linked to a recycling and furniture business and cafe. Emmaus provides services and donations to other local homelessness organisations. Notably, it provides a successful detox environment for some drug-users. • The financial and economic evaluation of the strictly business element of the enterprise, based on accounts figures for 2001/02, show that the Community generated a trading surplus of around £153,800. Even allowing for the imputed costs of the business property – which is owned by the Emmaus Community – and for voluntary inputs and outputs, the pure business surplus is estimated at over £130,000 for the year. • Taking account of all elements of the Community’s activities – including, accommodation costs and income sources, the financial surplus is over £100,000. Even including imputed potential costs of the whole property - the total Community surplus is still of the order of £30,000 per annum. • A particularly important part of the Emmaus ethos has been that Communities take as little direct Government assistance as possible. The only source of Government revenue funding
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Case Studies – Public Sector benefits
p r ov i d e d t o t h e Savings and benefits Cambridge Emmaus to the wider C is housing community made by benefit donated by Emmaus Cambridge eligible Companions. • A reasonable measure Skills/training savings of the savings to Government and the A&E healthcare savings w i d e r Co m m u n i t y is of the order of Donating goods to low income households £600,000 per annum. One example of Death cost savings these savings is the capacity to reduce the Asylum seeker support/NASS savings most obvious costs of homelessness. Drug treatment savings When a comparison is made with local Recycling waste savings hostel rents (the most likely alternative Discretional giving by Emmaus Cambridge accommodation option locally) the Housing and subsistance savings saving to Government is over £111,000. Supporting people allowance savings “This has been a fascinating piece of work Legal/justice system savings to do. It is clear that the 50K 100K 250K Emmaus organisation is £0 10K 25K unique in its approach to homelessness and it has the ability to provide value for money for Government and to contribute to society in such a positive way” said Professor Whitehead. Barbara Phillips, Director, Social Enterprise Unit, DTI, said: “Emmaus is both dynamic and sustainable. It embodies the values and characteristics of social enterprise with its bold social aims, its self-sufficiency, and its emphasis on people helping themselves”. S Brinton, EEDA’s deputy chair commented: “Social enterprises, or organizations which are run for the benefit of the community, make a critical contribution to the East of England’s £79 billion e and that contribution needs to be acknowledged through research such as this”. by David Lloyd A detailed summary of the research findings is contained in Emmaus UK: Building on Success. Summary of Findings by D Marshall, C Whitehead, R Lovatt and R Foreman. This is available free from Emmaus UK. 48 Kingston Street, Cambridge. United Kingdom. CB1 2NU. Alternatively, it can be downloaded from www.emmaus.org.uk
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