Work Opportunities Resource Co-operative (WORC)

Date of Incorporation: August 5^th, 1999

Membership: approximately 28

Activity: to create new employment and self-employment opportunities for people living with disabilities

Organisational Form: service co-operative

Area Served: Nelson and surrounding area

1) The purpose for which this cooperative is primarily organized shall be to promote and facilitate the development of business opportunities which minimize employment barriers for people with a broad range of abilities on behalf of its members.

2) The cooperative will offer these services to its members through the operation of self-employment training, development, and ongoing support marketing and administrative activities as are deemed necessary and desirable (statement of the Incorporators, Memorandum of Association, July 1999).

Background

WORC was born out of the exploration and development of non-traditional work opportunities suitable for people living with a variety of disabilities. Employment often plays a fundamental role in defining an individual's quality of life and is known to be a major factor in successful participation in society. Most people living with disabilities are eager to work; however, they frequently face challenges finding and keeping meaningful employment. Suitable opportunities are often hard to find and many people with disabilities need physical and/ or emotional support, or are only able to work limited hours or in flexible circumstances.

Career Development Services (CDS), a not for profit agency of the Nelson District Community Resources Society (NDCRS), had been actively developing "supported employment opportunities" for people with disabilities in the Nelson and surrounding area for over 12 years. The mandate of Supported Employment is to assist employers and individuals with disabilities in developing flexible work environments that respond to a variety of needs, skills, and abilities.

A major aim of CDS is to overcome the "limiting aspects of the social and emotional consequences of having lived with social stigma or poor self-esteem" that are often associated with the lack of access to meaningful vocation. Supported Employment is a service that locates and matches individuals to job opportunities, partners with potential employers in the community, provides ongoing skills training and job support, and facilitates collaborative evaluation of the individuals' goals and the outcomes of their work placements.

In the past, CDS's Supported Employment efforts targeted traditional work opportunities for people with disabilities in the Nelson area. However, Supported Employment counselors at CDS witnessed a growing interest amongst their client group toward entrepreneurial ventures and self-employment. As a result CDS collaborated with other service providers in the Nelson community to explore new ways of creating non­traditional employment for these people. While various options including co-operative models were being explored, CDS under the leadership of Faith Cullen moved ahead to develop three micro-businesses and a number of strategic private sector partnerships.

• Kootenay Direct Mail Management is an ad-mail service that provides employment for 7­10 people with disabilities on an ongoing basis. Strategic partnerships were developed with the local Kootenay House Press, as well as with the government sponsored Columbia Basin Trust, and Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation program
• Walden Enterprises, a gardening and landscaping business that maintains two acres of lawn and 8, 000 square feet of lawn at the West Kootenay Power site. Walden employs 15 people with disabilities during various seasonal periods. Strategic partnerships were developed with West Kootenay Power and Bloom Landscaping
• Sunshine Bay Enterprises (SBE) is a private janitorial service that developed in partnership with CDS. The micro business employs up to 45 individuals with disabilities in addition to 4 job coaches at over 15 sites. According to CDS "employment placements at SBE (through CDS) account for approximately 1000 hrs supported employment per month and over 200 hrs of job coaching per month."

These founding efforts into small-scale entrepreneurial development and private business partnerships met with great success in the community and opened the door to a more progressive approach for creating and maintaining meaningful employment for people with disabilities. According to CDS, "this conclusion has been strongly supported by the individuals who have disabilities and who desire real paid work that reflects their interests and distinct needs and abilities." It was re-affirmed that the small business sector could provide flexibly structured, part-time, or temporary work that is not often available through traditional means of employment.

Moving closer to a co-operative structure

Following these early stage entrepreneurial successes Faith Cullen and Career Development Services continued to explore various business and organizational forms that would support the sustained growth and development of entrepreneurial potential for their client group. Faith's investigation led her to local Co-op developer Lyn Cayo. Together they examined the potential uses and limitations of co-operative models as they might apply to people with disabilities. Through this process it became clear that a co-operative structure could be very useful in moving people toward self-employment while maintaining the values and goals that CDS was committed to through their supported employment program.

In 1997 with voluntary consultation and support from Lyn Cayo, and with limited financial support from HRDC Canada, CDS began to develop a legal non-profit co-operative as a "supportive organizational home" in which to house new and existing micro-businesses. The organizers chose a co-operative model for strong democratic reasons: "A co-operative structure was chosen because it would give the workers greater say in managing their businesses while possibly addressing some of the regulatory impediments faced by those receiving disability benefits and who wished to obtain paid employment."

Lyn Cayo assisted WORC organisers to understand the co-op legislation and to work through the process of designing a co-operative model that would best reflect both the needs and the growing entrepreneurial spirit of their client group.

Organizational structure

Work Opportunities Resource Co-operative became a non-profit service co-op that acts as an umbrella under which both member micro-businesses and individuals are housed. Primarily it provides centralized office services such as bookkeeping, marketing, message services, and business planning. In addition to this the co­op provides logistical coordination and organizational services including active acquisition of contracts for its member businesses. The co-op will also provide skills training, job support and mentorship where necessary and desired by the members.

As mentioned above, both individuals and micro-businesses can acquire memberships in the co-op. To do this they must purchase a ten-dollar membership share. Individual co-op members become part of the co-op's growing resource base, which is used by the various micro-businesses to find employees. This makes it possible for a person to have access to short-term contracts, or longer and more stable employment if desired. Job or contract openings are posted for access by co-op members first before going into the greater community to be filled.

In addition to this, membership provides access to training opportunities that become available through the service providers who are linked to the co-op. For example, through CDS people who were interested in starting their own business were able to access specialized entrepreneurial business development training partly funded by the Ministry of Community Development Co-operatives and Volunteers.  Out of 18 students, 13 followed the program through to completion and have brought their business plans to the co-op or have become individual members.

As a member micro-business you have access to the co-op's human resources and labor pool as well as to business services at an affordable rate, including staffed clerical support, bookkeeping and Internet access, and banking and payroll services. There is also a marketing component to the service with such things as the provision of business cards, brochures, and the eventual development of a co-op website. Other services will be determined as membership grows. It is important to note that the basic business support services have been made available for a reasonable fee to businesses in the community, which are not run by people with disabilities. As a result co-op micro-business memberships are not restricted to those represented by disabled entrepreneurs. The fees associated with these kinds of memberships help provide revenue to support the overall operating costs of the co-operative.

Strategic infrastructure

Through the experience of setting up a co-operative structure for people with disabilities CDS noted the importance of building a strong supportive infrastructure. "The co-op's best chance for survival depends on the quality of relationships developed between the co-op members, the business community, potential service providers such as CDS and Mental Health, and the community at large." It was clear that a strategic infrastructure was necessary to provide ongoing support for the unique needs of the client group served by CDS. However, CDS agrees that the development of such an infrastructure should not prohibit the co-op from organizing a strong and autonomous identity, nor should it limit the scope of membership participation, overall structuring and management, the co-op's vision, or the kinds of activities that the members choose to be involved in. As Faith Cullen stated, "our goal at CDS in putting together a co-op structure is to work ourselves out of a job."

From an outside view, the intricate web of internal and external relationships makes understanding the WORC structure a complicated undertaking. While the co-operative's members are people with disabilities it remains necessary to build and maintain closely linked relationships that support and further the co-operatives goals. Defining appropriate roles for these support structures in relation to the co-op has been an ongoing challenge. Members note that coming to see themselves as a distinct group outside of CDS, Mental Health and other service providers is an important part of the ongoing process of developing the co-op's separate identity.

The ongoing process

Since the co-op became officially incorporated in August of 1999, it has gone through a steady two year process of building the co-op infrastructure, advancing existing businesses, developing new opportunities, training members, and sustaining community partnerships. A number of new micro-businesses are currently in the works including Zero Waste Recycling, which intends to renew the local Regional District's lost recycling program with a labor force made up of disabled individuals who will all likely be co-op members.

Another significant entrepreneurial development is Earth and Sky Fabric Design, which has been funded to this point by the Kootenay Boundary Community Health Services (KBCHS): "This micro-business is a fabric and design business that is owned by and employs six mental health consumers." The goal of the business is to provide positive work experience for consumers, which will offer psychosocial rehabilitation benefits. This business was developed outside of the co-op structure and they are currently seeking membership within the co-op.

The local Women in Need (WIN) thrift store recently became a co-op member in order to access office support and bookkeeping services. The store has offered the co-op a large and very accessible office space. The co-op staff will be relocating to this space soon and believe that it will bring them better exposure to the public as the WIN is a busy center in a good central location. WIN employs two people who have been able to discontinue their disability benefits altogether as a result of stable, supportive employment.

In addition to this, eight new board members were elected at the AGM in April 2001.  All of the new members are living with a disability, which brings the number of people with disabilities on the board to ten out of a total of fifteen. This was very satisfying for the service providers on the board, as the goal is to eventually move the co-op towards complete autonomy. The month following the AGM, the co-op held a membership drive to educate people with disabilities about the co-op and to celebrate all the hard work that had gone into the co­op so far.  The drive met with great success and the co-op signed up thirty new members.

Challenges to development

As with many community based development projects one of the biggest challenges was sourcing funding for business (co-op) development, capitalizing new ventures, and providing ongoing resources and support such as a permanent paid staff member. The co-op has found it necessary to provide office services to its members for free for the first year while the businesses get themselves into a position where they have a steady and reliable revenue flow.

Small increments of funding came through a few sources such as HRDC, the Ministry for Community Development Co-operatives and Volunteers, Columbia Basin Treaty Foundation, and KBCHS. Sourcing development funds will be a significant focus over the next year but the co-op is planning to become self-sustaining in the future so that it relies less on improvement funds and more on revenue generated through successful micro-businesses operations. However, it should be mentioned that the co-op received a great deal of in-kind support from individuals, service providers, and businesses over the last few years.

Another challenge that was noted by co-op members was the lack of access to learning materials and business information as it pertains to co-operative ventures. The local Community Futures Corporation provides a strong resource for traditional forms of business development but has little to offer with regard to co-operative models. Furthermore, understanding the legal and organizational aspects of co-operatives as legislated in the co-op act was an onerous task. This was exacerbated by the lack of financial backing to secure the help of a specialized co-op developer.  Without Lyn Cayo's unpaid assistance the co-op would have had to struggle through the process alone.

In addition to financial and logistical challenges, there are a number of significant disincentives to becoming an entrepreneurial co-op member for people living with a disability. Individuals interested in pursuing self-employment are often receiving Income Assistance or Disability Pensions.  When these individuals pursue self-employment as a work option they are usually in jeopardy of losing their BC Benefits entitlement. A small-scale entrepreneur is required to disclose and claim all general revenue as personal income even though most, if not all, of it goes back into the business to cover operating costs. In this regard there is a very immediate need for policy evaluation and modification at both the Federal and Provincial government levels to address the structural disincentives that negatively impact a person's ability to enjoy full participation in society.

Looking to the future

The co-op is currently at a healthy transition point where they are moving away from heavy reliance on CDS, Nelson District Community Resources Society and other service providers, and moving toward autonomy and self-reliance. Faith Cullen has left the project and with the new board of directors and the recent addition of thirty members the co-op is taking on a shape and identity of its own.

In the fall the co-op will be doing some active re-visioning and goal setting. They are coming together to define who they want to be and to plan a course of action to get there. The co-op hopes to have a permanent management person in place by the fall and has cited business planning and marketing as key strategic goals for the coming year.  In addition to this the co-op is setting up an advisory committee to the board, made up of previous experienced board members who can mentor and support the new board. As part of the co-op's phase two strategies they will be engaging in board and management training and constructing a strong peer support and leadership mandate. The co-op hopes to engage as many members as possible in some level of active participation in the co-op process and administration.

KBCHS has provided funding for an interim co-op manager to work on various projects: designing proposals to target development funding sources for the second phase of the co-op's strategic plan, acquiring charitable status for the co-op, operationalising the new Zero Waste Recycling business, and building a public profile for the co-op. In addition to these, the manager will work on the long-term goal of supporting the transition of existing businesses into the WORC co-operative, including Walden Enterprises, Kootenay Direct, Sun Shine Bay Enterprises, and the new Earth and Sky Fabric Design. The manager who was selected by the co-op for this position is not only grounded in business applications, but is also a person who is living with a disability.

Threats to sustainability

At this point one of the greatest threats to the co-op's social and economic sustainability would be lack of access to development funding and service provider resources. While the co-op looks optimistically down the road to becoming self-sustaining it is in a particularly vulnerable stage of its development process. The co-op will require a few years of business activity and revenue generation in the community, as well as continued training for strategic leadership positions within the co-op's management and support structure before it could achieve a level of sustainability that would allow it to operate outside of the funding and service provider network.

Another issue concerning sustainability is member participation, and the level to which co-op members actively engage with the co-op's philosophy. In this infant stage the co-op is working towards a more energetic buy-in from the members it serves. This will be assisted in part by visioning and goal setting but it will remain a key foundational factor in the longevity of the co-op. In regard to this issue, Faith Cullen has expressed that there are some problems inherent in starting a co-op "for" people with disabilities: "You might say that initially the co­op was a co-op of service providers." The co-op was both initiated and developed by members of Nelson's service agencies; indeed, the original board was a reflection of this fact.

Faith notes the contradictions that arise when the service community attempts to externally construct a co­operative structure "for" a client group that they themselves are not a part of and therefore share no voice in. Under the co-op principles of democratic participation, autonomy, and independence, the community of disabled persons should be directing the co-ops development. However, the relationships between the service provider and the consumer in this case become a little blurred. As Faith stated, "someone needed to start the ball rolling, I saw the opportunity and ran with it."

Members of the new co-op also have to cross a gulf between a life they are familiar with, one that presents countless limitations and barriers to meaningful participation in the activities and institutions that mainstream society takes for granted, and the unknown territory of empowered active participation and the ability to affect change. Many people have struggled for so many years in a system that renders them invisible and powerless that they have a very difficult time believing that change is possible even when the evidence is before them. The economic and social sustainability of this co-operative will depend on the ability of a few strong members to persevere in their endeavors so as to demonstrate the possibilities for change. Members will measure their success by an increase in their overall satisfaction and quality of life, their ability to contribute to the community, and by the ability to access a living wage.

In economic terms, the co-op will create jobs, and decrease reliance on Nelson's social support structures.  It will provide an alternative source of income for people living marginally, and also personal satisfaction through meaningful participation in the local labour market. The co-op will also have a very definite positive impact on the community. "By creating a way for us to do something important in the community we are also building community pride because people can see we are a valuable part everyday life." Co-op members will become more active and more visible in the community, and add to its richness and diversity.

Case Study Information

This case study was developed for a report entitled Situating Co-operatives in British Columbia - 2000-2001, which was prepared for the Province of B.C. (Ministry of Community Development, Co-operatives and Volunteers) by the British Columbia Institute for Co-operative Studies, University of Victoria.  To obtain the information for the study BCICS and the co-operative entered into a partnership agreement. BCICS is grateful to the co-op members for their contributions and time. The case study is published with the approval of the co-operative. Further information regarding this study includes the following:

Researcher: Colleen Shepherd

Date of research: 2001

Author: Colleen Shepherd

Date of writing: 2001

Editing: BCICS editorial group

Supervision: Kathleen Gabelmann, BCICS Research Co-ordinator

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