Toronto Star’s Carol Goar on a research project by U of T Rottman School of Manafement and CAMH to create opportunities for people who experience difficulty finding a job once labelled with a mental illness diagnosis – micro loans and business training to help them start up their own business as entrepreneur/ artist..\extract…
Carol Goar, Toronto Star, Tue 1o, Jan 2012
Some of the most creative people in Canada have psychiatric disorders. They long to support themselves, but don’t function well in a corporate environment. They dream of running their own business, but can’t get start-up funding.
So they remain trapped, their talents underdeveloped and their aspirations out of reach.
What if someone believed in them, invested in them and gave them a chance to become contributing members of society?
We now know the answer, thanks to a groundbreaking experiment by the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Three years ago they launched a pilot project to see if microcredit could make a difference. The clients received a small loan or line credit at a below-market rate. Rotman provided coaching and mentors. CAMH offered mental health support. The seed money ($1 million) came from philanthropist Sandra Rotman.
The exploratory phase just ended. Three of the 11 clients in the program have already paid off their five-year loans. The other eight are all making regular monthly payments.
Their businesses vary from craft shops to e-commerce networks. One now has bank financing. One was featured in Flare magazine. Two have received entrepreneurial achievement awards.
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recovery network: Toronto 