Eragintza celebrates 35 years of generating employment opportunities for people with mental health issues

Eragintza Fundazioa celebrated its 35th anniversary on October 8 at the BBK Sala in Bilbao under the motto “35 years of stories that matter.” On the eve of World Mental Health Day (October 10), the event highlighted the role of work, occupation, and training in the recovery of individuals with mental health issues, as well as the need to create opportunities that foster progress toward autonomy and social inclusion, with a special emphasis on the experience and journey of service users.

The event was attended by representatives of the entities that make up Eragintza’s board of trustees—the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, BBK, and Confebask—alongside other institutions, social organizations, partner companies, professionals, and service users. Attendees included Elixabete Etxanobe, General Deputy of Bizkaia; Amaia Antxustegi, Provincial Deputy for Social Action; Unai Rementeria, President of BBK; Juan Mari Aburto, Mayor of Bilbao; and Nora Sarasola, President of Eragintza’s Board of Trustees and Director of BBK Social Banking. Representatives from the Basque Government and the Bizkaia Mental Health Network also took part.

During the opening, Izaskun Landaida, General Director of Eragintza, emphasized the central role of service users and the importance of guidance and support. “For 35 years, we have been supporting individuals with mental health issues in their social and occupational integration processes with the firm conviction of making their right to work a reality.” “Behind these 35 years lie personal and unique processes, life projects, which for those of us who make up ERAGINTZA are and always will be our guiding light, our driving force, and our raison d’être.”

Resources to combat stigma

Eragintza’s history began in 1991, when families from AVIFES demanded the right to work for their sons and daughters. That demand gave rise to a private, non-profit foundation that, over these 35 years, has developed specialized resources and partnerships to facilitate social and occupational integration and combat the stigma that continues to condition perceptions of the capabilities of individuals with mental health issues. Today, Eragintza serves over 800 users who participate in designing their personalized plans.

Its free resources include specialized job counseling, pre-employment activation, youth programs, and professional certification training, in addition to four occupational centers offering activities in gardening, laundry, wiring, and bookbinding. It also facilitates access to sheltered employment—at its social-initiative special employment center Lavanindu and other centers in Bizkaia—as well as employment in ordinary companies. In 2025, the foundation managed 232 contracts (154 in special employment centers and 78 in companies in Bizkaia) and provided more than 2,500 hours of specialized job counseling. These supports are tailored to individuals with varying levels of education, work experience, and needs.

“At BBK, we have collaborated with Eragintza since its inception and maintain our commitment through the board of trustees, alongside the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and Confebask.” “These are 35 years of proving that when opportunities, proper support, and trust in people’s capabilities exist, labor integration becomes a reality,” Nora Sarasola noted during her speech, also emphasizing the value of employment for people’s life projects, “because talking about employment is talking about dignity, autonomy, life projects, and full participation in society.”

Presentations and testimonies

The event featured presentations by Leire San José Ruiz de Aguirre, Professor of Financial Economics and Accounting at the UPV/EHU and leader of the ECRI research group; and Ana González Pinto, Professor of Psychiatry at the UPV/EHU and Head of the Psychiatry Service at Gasteiz University Hospital. Additionally, a roundtable discussion led by Eragintza service users provided firsthand insight into their experiences and journeys toward social and occupational integration. The gathering concluded with a tribute to those participating in the foundation’s various resources.