| Summary: | Consumer/survivor-run businesses (CSRB's) are businesses in
which people with a history of mental illness play a role in
developing and managing the business. Key aspects of this type of
activity include flexibility in working hours, and some form of
democratic control over the business. Consumer/survivor-run businesses employ aspects of both community economic development and self-help for people with a
history of mental illness. These businesses act as an alternative form of vocational rehabilitation for people with a history of mental illness. The
predominant forms of vocational rehabilitation, such as sheltered
work, employment preparation programs, transitional employment, and
supported employment are often beneficial, but are not without
limitations. Dependency on professionalized services, stagnation in
entry-level jobs, and a lack of independence are some of the
limitations described in the literature. Five cases of CSRB's from across Canada are analyzed. From the literature reviewed and the experiences of these cases, constraints faced by CSRB's and opportunities presented for support to them
through public policy are discussed. The constraints included (i) bureaucratic restrictions that limit what consumer/survivors may earn on top of their disability pensions; (ii) attitudes of the general public, namely the stigma
of mental illness; (iii) attitudes of mental health professionals,
who hold to a 'service paradigm'; (iv) problems inherent in the
development of alternative settings, and (v) the drift towards
professionalism often experienced by alternative settings. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of === Graduate
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