Social firms can play an important role: Lets hope within a year we have started some new social firms and created new jobs.
Social firms are primarily businesses, but businesses with a social mission, providing quality goods and services to the market.
Social Firms were more likely to receive funding from the NHS or a mental health charity than social enterprises/supported businesses (31.2% of Social Firms, 15% of social enterprises/supported businesses).
Social Firms offer paid employment to people with mental illness but are under-investigated in the UK.
Social Firms have significant potential to be a viable addition to Individual Placement and Support (IPS), supporting recovery orientated services for people with the full range of mental disorders.
Social Firms could represent a viable addition to IPS and appear to provide opportunities to gain sustained employment, supporting personal and vocational recovery for people with the full range of mental disorders.
Social Firms, provide the potential opportunity to overcome some of these challenges as the ethos embedded in them advocates for a model of empowerment and recovery-oriented service [ 40, 41].
Social Firms have the potential to complement the IPS model by being part of a range of services that can promote social inclusion of the mentally ill in employment as well as presenting a prosperous business model [ 42, 43].
