Vanguard Laundry’s supportive approach to employing people with mental illness not only provides financial and wellbeing benefits for workers, but also reduces public health and welfare costs, according to a new AMP Foundation-funded report.

Vanguard is a social enterprise that operates a successful commercial laundry and career development centre in Toowoomba, creating jobs for people who have struggled to find work and supporting them to move into other roles.

In 2019, the laundry employed 65 people who had a lived experience with mental illness and generated $2.27 million in income (up 46% from the previous year).

Operating since late 2016, Vanguard has been the subject of a three-year evaluation study conducted by Aurora Elmes from the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne. 

Improved wellbeing and finances                       

The 2019 evaluation found many positive outcomes for employees with a lived experience of mental illness. Before joining Vanguard, just over a quarter (25.7%) had been unemployed for more than five years. All reached 26 weeks in employment at Vanguard, with over three-quarters (77%) reaching a year.  

While an improvement in financial circumstances was the biggest recorded benefit of working at Vanguard, the impact report also indicates that many employees experienced significant physical and mental health improvements. They reported:

• a median $360 per fortnight increase in income
• 75.6% rated their health as being better or about the same since starting work
• 260 fewer days in hospital since (as a group) since working at Vanguard, with an estimated saving of $433,687 in direct hospital costs from December 2016 to June 2019
• 63.5% reported having three or more sources of support, compared to 53.7% reporting having two or fewer sources of support before starting work  
• less housing stress, with the proportion of employees paying more than 30% of their income on housing being halved.

Vanguard Laundry Services founder Luke Terry said the research findings reflected the positive changes he had witnessed on the ground at Vanguard. 

“Findings to date indicate that providing award wages in an inclusive and flexible environment is generating positive outcomes.

“The biggest impact is on employee’s finances, but we’ve also found that working at Vanguard has a very positive impact on our people’s mental and physical health – having supportive colleagues is a major factor in increased wellbeing. And the support they receive from our managers to make positive health changes, like reducing or quitting smoking, and plan for the future is also very significant.

“Hiring some of the community’s most disadvantaged people does present challenges, but our ongoing research demonstrates that the economic and social value Vanguard provides is worth the investment.”

Plans are now underway to open a second Vanguard Laundry social enterprise in Brisbane.

Helen Liondos, Head of the AMP Foundation, said such research was vital for attracting funding and public support: “Vanguard has taken a very innovative approach to helping regional Australians who have faced many barriers to employment. Undertaking and presenting research findings in these formative years is crucial, as it provides evidence that the model works.”

“The AMP Foundation is proud to have supported Vanguard during its foundational years.”

The AMP Foundation has been supporting Vanguard since late 2016, providing over $1.1 million to date for research, as well as business and career development roles.

Download the Vanguard Laundry Services 2019 Three Years In Business impact report here.

Find out more about Vanguard Laundry Services here.