Creative opportunities: The Linden workshops change lives in Leipzig!

Creative opportunities: The Linden workshops change lives in Leipzig!

The Diakonie's Linden workshops in Leipzig-Lindenau are an important player in the vocational rehabilitation of people with disabilities. Here the workshops offer a wide range of craft services, including carpentry and ceramics. Every year, around 800 wooden desks are manufactured for service technicians of wind turbines. Due to the lack of large equipment, the carpentry shop does not specialize in series production, but rather in smaller orders. All offers are aimed at promoting the participation and integration of people with disabilities into working life, as Diakonie Leipzig reports.

The Linden workshops are part of the second labor market and are aimed at people with disabilities. At the various locations in Leipzig-Lindenau, Panitzsch and Schkeuditz, a total of over 100 employees are employed to look after more than 450 clients. In Lindenau alone, 45 employees work with around 180 clients. Financing comes mainly from commissioned work, direct sales and a lunch kitchen. The cost bearers are the municipal social association, which covers 90 percent of the costs, and the employment agency and pension insurance providers, which finance the remaining 10 percent.

Diverse offers for clients

The Lindenwerkstätten not only offer traditional jobs, but also comprehensive support through social services. This support includes individual and group discussions as well as help with participation in working life. Workshop employees are entitled to on-the-job skills development measures, ranging from social skills training to on-site therapies such as occupational therapy. These practices facilitate individual participation planning and promote the independence of clients who live with mental, emotional or physical disabilities.

A variety of work opportunities are available at the Linden Workshops' various locations, including woodworking, ceramics, laundry, kitchen and housekeeping. Sanitary assemblies and religious education teaching materials are also produced in Panitzsch. A unique aspect is that the workshop employees even have the opportunity to carry out activities directly with the customer, which supports integration into the general labor market. In order to achieve these goals, job coaches are active at all locations and help with internships and placements in the regular job market.

The Lindenwerkstätten laundry is a significant facility with a daily capacity of half a ton of laundry. In 2024, a total of 1.2 million mops were cleaned here. Due to the growing need, consideration is currently being given to outsourcing this facility in order to meet the high requirements. Diakonie Leipzig thus implements innovative ideas to meet the needs of its clients and improve their quality of life.