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Raminta Pučėtaitė, Vilnius University Rasa Pušinaitė-Gelgotė, Vilnius University Aurelija Novelskaitė, Vilnius University
Workshops of Treasures SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CASE STUDY
Societal need for this social business Although the Law of Social Enterprises (2004) in Lithuania offers financial benefits to the so-called work integration social enterprises (WISE) which employ disabled people, the unemployment of people with learning disabilities is a severe problem in society. According to statistical data of 2017 from the Department for the Affairs of the Disabled under the Ministry of Social Security and Labor of the Republic of Lithuania,¹ there were more than 10 thousand disabled people registered in the Labor Exchange. From these, around 800 disabled people are sent to professional training and 76% find employment. Around 190 social enterprises of disabled people employ 8,000 disabled people. This costs the state over €3m and prompts a search for more effective ways of integrating disabled people into the labor market, providing them with professional skills, strengthening their self-dependence and ensuring dignity of life.
Disabled people’s needs are not properly met by public services: mostly public (social) services will assist the family members in getting some counselling and social workers’ help in meeting household needs. However, public services are not aimed at developing the skills of self-dependence of people with learning disabilities and fail to build their social inclusion. In particular, in less urban communities people tend to think that people with learning disabilities should live in ghettos.² Also, there is a gap in social services for such disabled adults having a higher self-dependence level, who need meaningful activities in a sheltered work place, which is “more than a day center”. Vocational schools are not ready to welcome people with learning disabilities and provide them with professional skills. So, they just sit at their desks during theoretical lessons and daydream. Or they start attending a day-care center day after day and become more dependent on the system and social workers. Finally, in society there is a strong belief that disabled people are those who get something from society, e.g., social benefits, whatever they are called, pension, allowance, donations etc. But these people want and can give a lot to society! Thus, changing attitudes to people with learning disabilities as capable and society-friendly individuals is crucial.
Neįgaliųjų reikalų departamentas prie SADM. Statistiniai rodikliai [Statistic metrics]. Available at: http://www.ndt.lt/statistiniai-rodikliai/ Accessed on 20-01-2020 ² Bakūnaitė, G. (2019). Skandalų purtomų Žiežmarių gyventojai išplatino viešą laišką: vis dėlto šie žmonės yra ne tokie kaip mes [Residents of Žiežmariai in the peak of scandals distributed a public letter: On a second thought, these people are not like us]. Available at: https://bit.ly/3b3Jedk. Accessed on 29-01-2020 L‘Arche International. Together in the mission. Available at: https://www.larche.org/lt/together-in-the-mission. Accessed on 20-01-2020
