The European ‘Marienthal’ Network: New Work Opportunities for People with Mental Health Problems

Abstract

Many of the readers of A Life in the Day will already have had some involvement with programmes funded by the European Social Fund. Some will be working actively with partners from Europe through Helios, Horizon, or another of the resonantly named initiatives which promote economic development and the inclusion of disadvantaged or disabled people into the labour market. Others are hesitating before taking the plunge, wary of the funding and the difficulties of overcoming language and cultural barriers — which always seem larger on this side of the Channel than for colleagues in mainland Europe.This journal unashamedly aims to promote the cause of partnership within Europe, believing that the gains of getting to know our European colleagues and their work far outweigh the costs and difficulties. We will, however, be taking a realistic view of the problems as well as the benefits, and we will regularly draw on the experiences of pioneers of transnational working — from Europe as well as the UK — to illustrate the ideas, the learning and the common concerns which have come out of the great European experiment.Our first article on the European dimension looks at how collaboration can extend beyond the first stage of a programme and continue to enhance the work of all the partners beyond the millennium.

Citation

Higgins, G. (1997), "The European ‘Marienthal’ Network: New Work Opportunities for People with Mental Health Problems", A Life in the Day, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 29-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/13666282199700010