– I was very worried. I’m a single mother and work, so I can’t follow him when he’s out. I don’t feel I have enough knowledge about what happens to the young people outside, says the mother of “Elias”. “Elias” is not his real name. He and his family wish to remain anonymous. When her 14-year-old son started getting high and hanging out in the wrong environment, the single mother from Drammen didn’t know what to do. The sister and mother of “Elias” did not know what to do when he started to end up in the wrong environment. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news She went to several places to find someone who could get her son out of the bad environment – First I contacted my GP, then the child welfare office and the police. I asked them for help. I was also on the away team, asked what they do. I tried to get more information about the youth in the city. Training injury led to intoxication “Elias” says many of his problems started after an injury during football training in the 8th grade. – I went to football before, but I had an injury. It really ruined a lot for me. I lost motivation, ended up on the streets and started getting high. Started robbing cars, robbing people, he says. He believes loneliness and boredom are the reasons why many young people end up in the wrong environment. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news The time after the injury was a difficult period for “Elias”. He sought solace in his intoxication and found new friends in the wrong environment. – It was marijuana, cannabis and heavier drugs. There were also a lot of pills and the like. I ran away from home several times, and it became difficult for my family and everyone around me to keep an eye on me, he says. Help from an unexpected source In her search for help, the mother came across the non-profit youth organization Norwegian Youth Center and experience consultant Victor Logan. The mother says meeting them was a turning point for her and the family. Victor Logan (from left), Irfan Sarwar, Hubert Shema, Akil Anniyi Ahmed, Hubert Shema and Preben Krogh Jacobsen from the Norwegian Youth Center. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news Because there was close follow-up from the organization that was needed to keep “Elias” away from trouble and drugs. – I trust them and call them if my son doesn’t come home. I contact them and ask how the environment is, how the youth are, how my son is. They follow along, says the mother of “Elias”. “Elias” says he wouldn’t have started high school if it hadn’t been for Logan and the gang. He had an average of one, and says that they have helped him get better grades. They also fixed him a job at Kiwi and signed him up for boxing. “Elias” explains that the Norwegian Youth Center often invites people over for dining and gaming evenings, among other things. Willing to help young people choose a different path The municipality’s only experienced consultant, Victor Logan, himself has a criminal past behind him. He uses it daily in his job to help young people. For the past three years, he has worked with preventive work against young people. Expertise is important, but when it comes to working with criminal environments or young people who commit crime, experience is often decisive, says the experience consultant. – Through experience you can see and perceive signals before events occur, and you understand the language and codes that are used in these environments in a completely different way, says Logan the experience consultant on a visit to “Elias”. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news – How valuable would it have been to you if you had met an experienced consultant in your youth? – I could have been something completely different than an experience consultant today – maybe a locomotive driver, maybe a pilot. If I had gotten the support I needed, my life could have turned out differently. I am passionate about this because when I was having a hard time, there was no one by my side, he says. The Minister for Children and Families believes more people should learn from Drammen Recently, the Minister for Children and Families visited “Elias”, together with Logan and the boys from the Norwegian Youth Center. Here she got to see how preventative youth work works in the municipality and how an experienced consultant works. – It’s incredibly nice to see how Logan and the gang have helped the family. I am impressed by the focus Drammen has had, says the minister. The Minister for Children and Families greets experience consultant Victor Logan in Drammen. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news Several municipalities have similar consultants who work with preventive work against young people, including Hamar, Oslo and Bergen. The minister believes that experienced consultants are part of the solution to the growing youth crime and believes that more people can learn from the work being done in Drammen. – When it comes to preventive work, many people do things in their own way. There is no recipe for it. In a way it’s good, so you can adapt to local forces and local initiatives, says Toppe before adding: – But I think we should learn from Drammen and the experienced consultants. I think many municipalities would have thought they were lucky if they had people like Victor Logan and others who can work in a completely different way towards the youth group, than what some public services are able to do. She emphasizes that you have to think differently. – We have not been able to stop the development until now. We must think new and creatively and take young people seriously. We must be able to look at the resources that live in all young people and in all families, she adds. Published 25.10.2024, at 20.29
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Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe believes more people should do as Drammen did with experienced consultants – news Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio
