Consumer/Survivor Businesses in Ontario: Challenging the Rehabilitation Model

In recent years the field of vocational programming for people with serious mental health problems has been undergoing major changes. This paper examines one of the new approaches which has emerged: consumer/survivor-run businesses. These models typically feature as key players people who have used the mental health system themselves. Cooperative businesses are set up in which those involved are employees rather than clients. There is little or no input from professional staff. Consumer/survivor-run businesses represent a challenge to the idea that vocational programs should be based on professional rehabilitation service models. Early results indicate that involvement in these programs substantially reduces the use of mental health services such as inpatient hospitalization.