Interview with a social entrepreneur: Sarah Mills, Program Manager: Stella’s Circle

 

Sarah’s Description of Stella’s Circle:

“Stella’s Circle is a large social services agency working in St. John’s to provide support to marginalized populations in the areas of Employment, Housing and Clinical services. Around 15 years ago staff began exploring the feasibility of incorporating social enterprises into our programming. The motivation for this was 2 pronged. 1) To develop additional revenue streams to assist with funding the larger organizations mandate of transforming lives through Real Homes, Real Help, and Real Work. 2) To create opportunities for participants of Employment Services to gain real world work experience and receive training in 3 sectors including food service, commercial cleaning and property maintenance / trades." 

There are many opportunities for learning throughout the process of developing and maintaining social enterprises. Stella’s Circle successfully opened the Hungry Heart Café in 2008 as an eat-in café providing breakfast, lunch and catering services. In 2008, Stella’s Circle also started an odd job company called CanDo offering minor home repairs, lawn maintenance and light cleaning. CanDo was funded through government as an employment program so it was not confined by typical business factors such as generating revenue. While it was an excellent opportunity to provide training to participants, it was not sustainable. In 2016, Stella’s Circle focused the CanDo program and officially launched Clean Start, a commercial cleaning company providing services to office and apartment buildings, churches, Airbnb’s and other commercial locations. Similar to the Café, Clean Start spent the early years building a customer base, figuring out what worked and what didn’t, learning how to effectively quote jobs etc. Not including the support provided to participants to maintain their employment, Clean Start is self sustaining and has even begun to turn a profit over the last couple of years.  

Sarah explained that “if (Stella’s Circle) had been unsuccessful it would have been a loss to participants who are looking for training and employment opportunities. Many participants who face barriers related to mental health struggle to find stability in the competitive job market. Full time hours, unsupportive or biased employers and health concerns often mean they are unable to secure employment and maintain employment.” However, when working within Stella’s Circle social enterprises, participants are provided with Case Management and other supports to address challenges as they arise.

Starting a social enterprise requires facing many barriers that any small business may face. These include “finding customers and staff, providing quotes and marketing. We have the extra challenge of supporting participants while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. We overcame these challenges through hard work, reaching out to experts and leaning on partners.”

These barriers were amplified for Stella’s Circle during Covid since their survival depends on interacting with others. Sarah said that the pandemic “presented the restaurant with unique challenges as we had to close for a number of months which meant a loss in revenue. We applied for government provided support programs including the Emergency Covid Wage benefit and others.”

               I asked Sarah if she had any recommendations for fostering creativity, innovation or entrepreneurship. She suggested “if you see a gap in supports or services, think about how you can fill it to provide opportunities for participants. Partnering with like-minded or organizations with similar values or missions is also an important aspect of fostering innovation. Think big picture, not just about what has already been done. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Understanding that it will take time and patients to reach the goals. Encourage kids to get involved with entrepreneurial activities and organizations.”  

Stella’s Circle contributes to the social, economic health and well being of both participants of our programs as well as the wider community. Sarah explains that “People who work in our programs receive a source-deducted wage allowing them more disposable income to spend and a reduction in their income support payments, the community receives a quality product or service while supporting the larger mission of Stella’s Circle.”

In addition to financial benefits, there are huge personal benefits to working. Having structure and purpose in your life can contribute to mental wellness. The cafe provides a public space for people to come and enjoy a meal. While there, people will hopefully become curious to the goals of Stella’s Circle.

Social enterprises provide important services to many people who are need in a variety of ways. Stella’s Circle is tackling a very complex “problem,” which includes aspects of mental health, joblessness and homelessness. People can contribute to these organization in a number of ways. Sarah recommends helping their enterprise by ordering food from the Hungry Heart Café, use Clean Start to clean their professional space or Home to Stay for minor home renovations. People are also able to contribute through the website or periodic events such as Pancake Tuesday and Light up Hope. In addition, they accept donations of new hygiene products, winter clothing and other household items.

One thing that really stood out to me in this interview was when Sarah said “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!” This is another example of how having a growth mindset can help you overcome a problem or creative block. Not everything is easy, but putting in the effort is worth it when the outcomes are so positive.

Thank you, Sarah for your time! Check out http://www.StellasCircle.ca for more information.