COOPERATIVES AS A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IN ITALY - A PLACE FOR SOCIAL INTEGRATION AND REHABILITATION

This article analyses the history and development of an integrated coo perative established in 1981 in northern Italy. Integrated cooperative s, otherwise known as social enterprises, are among the most interesti ng activities developed in the area of social assistance and rehabilia tion in recent years in Italy. In particular, they acquired relevance in the care of mentally disordered people by providing them with job o pportunities, which is an important rehabilitative and integrative fac tor. The aim of social enterprises is two-fold. They have the economic goal of offering remunerative work just as any other commercial enter prise, as well as the social mandate of promoting the physical, social , and mental health of their members. A positive coexistence between m arket competition and rehabilitation is therefore constantly pursued. This research aimed at analysing the working and social experience of people employed by the cooperative during its 10-year life. The study was limited to those who had a social or health problem when entering the cooperative. The investigation was promoted by cooperative members , who felt the need to document their experience and to undertake init iatives towards evaluating the rehabilitative value of the social ente rprise. The results show that cooperative members come from different marginalized areas of social and health distress, of which the two lar gest are social service users and psychiatric service users. There is a noticeable turn-over rate, which underlines one function of the coop erative as being a transitional working context from which users can g ain access to other more rewarding job opportunities in the labour mar ket.