Sheltered workshops offer tailored work for individuals for whom employment in the regular labor market is not straightforward. Simultaneously, they are professional enterprises that deliver quality products and services to companies, organizations, residents, and local authorities. For municipalities and cities, sheltered workshops are therefore valuable local partners. They maintain green spaces, provide catering and laundry services, repair bicycles, support events, and carry out various production tasks. In this way, they combine professional service provision with sustainable employment opportunities and social added value.
In Mortsel, the collaboration with De Brug received a significant boost during the renovation of the new town hall. When this task threatened to exceed the capacity of the city's own services, De Brug took on the production of furniture and acoustic panels, among other things, while the city services handled the installation. About thirty sheltered workers contributed to the project for two months.
Today, De Brug is much more than a supplier for Mortsel. Through its laundry service Twaske, the sheltered workshop handles laundry for municipal schools and city services, as well as personal laundry for vulnerable residents. Additionally, the city and De Brug collaborate on social and sustainable projects, such as ‘Gered’, where vulnerable young people reconnect with education and work by cleaning sneakers.
The collaboration also supports the activation of job seekers. Through internships and Article 60 trajectories, residents gain experience at De Brug in a professional production environment. Recently, fifteen successful trajectories were organized from Mortsel.
Through the initiative ‘Ambassador of Sheltered Workshops’, Groep Maatwerk aims to make successful collaborations more visible. The 60 participating cities and municipalities express their appreciation for the sheltered workshops and their workers who make a difference daily. For Mortsel, this ambassadorship is a logical continuation of the years-long cooperation with De Brug. The message from the ambassador municipalities is clear: investing in sheltered workshops is investing in the local economy and society.
