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by Cristina Barbetta

POLAND. U Pana
Cogito

16 February 2011

Multimedia

U Pana Cogito

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Non Profit ID card. U Pana Cogito, a Krakow-based hotel that employs ex
mentally ill persons

Non Profit ID card: present your project/organisation/campaign

Questions answered by Agnieszka Lewonowska-Banach, Manager, U Pana
Cogito.

- Where are you based? In Krakow,
Poland.

- What are you called? U Pana Cogito Guest House and
Restaurant.

- What are you doing and why? U Pana Cogito Guest House and
Restaurant is a hotel and catering company. We are also an educational
institution, as we mostly employ people who have suffered from mental illness in
the past.

- Do you have a website/email? http://www.pcogito.pl/; [email-masked]

- What makes you so special? U Pana Cogito Guest House and
Restaurant is a social enterprise run by the Association of Families
“Mental Health” from Krakow. We have a social mission; we integrate and activate
people who have experienced mental health problems in the past. Such people
represent around 70% of our employees. The entire income is allocated for the
rehabilitation of the workers, subsidized medicines, rehabilitation camps, and
additional training sessions.

The turning point

- How did you start? In 2000 an NGO from Edinburgh called
Community Enterprise Limited along with the Association of Families "Zdrowie
Psychiczne" (Mental Health) from Krakow and with Towarzystwo Przyjaciół
Niepełnosprawnych (the Friends of Disabled Society) from Łódź, Poland, applied
jointly for a grant to the National Lottery Charities Board in Great Britain to
acquire funds for the investment. They were successful! As a result of this
cooperation our hotel opened in 2003. The authorities of Krakow submitted for a
40-year lease a historical building needing renovation. It was refurbished and
adopted in line with instructions of a restorer. Opening of the guesthouse cost
1.2 million PLN. PFRON (the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Handicapped
Persons) granted 40%, the remaining part was acquired through grants.

- What keeps you going every day? Our mission to help
people in need.

- Who is your target? We provide an opportunity for people
who have experienced mental health problems offering them stable employment,
fitted to their abilities and limitations. We give them a chance to have a
better life.

- How are you financed? PFRON, the State Fund for
Rehabilitation of Handicapped Persons, provides about 50% of the needed funds.
The remaining funds are covered through our income.

The challenge

- A proud moment? Full independence and opportunity to find
a job for mentally ill people within the regular labour market.

- A problem you face? Mental health instability of our
disabled employees.

http://www.pcogito.pl/

Go to Vita Europe Non Profit ID card on The Way Home.

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