Warner R, Polak P
Mental Health Center of Boulder County, CO 80304, USA.
Community Ment Health J. 1995 Aug;31(4):381-96; discussion 397-401. doi: 10.1007/BF02207524.
Consumer cooperatives have been shown to be feasible in Europe for generating adequately reimbursed jobs for the mentally ill, and may be viable in the U.S.. Such businesses can gain a market advantage by offering goods and services to mental health agencies or to the consumer group. Interviews with 50 mentally ill people living in Boulder, Colorado, identified sizable markets controlled by consumers: the average mentally ill person in the sample consumes $2,000 a month in psychiatric treatment, accommodation, food, medication and other goods and services. The findings suggest several income-generating opportunities. Consumers can be employed as mental health service providers, under certain conditions a consumer-cooperative pharmacy may be established, and some types of housing cooperative are viable.
消费合作社在欧洲已被证明对于为精神病患者创造有足够报酬的工作是可行的，在美国也可能可行。这类企业可以通过向心理健康机构或消费者群体提供商品和服务来获得市场优势。对居住在科罗拉多州博尔德市的50名精神病患者进行的访谈发现，消费者控制着相当大的市场：样本中的普通精神病患者每月在精神治疗、住宿、食品、药物及其他商品和服务上的消费为2000美元。研究结果表明了几个创收机会。消费者可以受雇成为心理健康服务提供者，在某些条件下可以建立消费者合作药房，而且某些类型的住房合作社也是可行的。
