– Think this is my house! Amal Adan cleans the dishwasher. With four children aged ten to 17, the kitchen counter quickly becomes full of dishes. But she smiles. It’s her kitchen. She has a total of seven children. Two of them are adults and have moved out, while one child lives with his father. Life in Norway has not always been easy. Since she arrived here, she has moved ten times, and in 2016 the house they lived in burned down. The following year, she divorced and was left alone with four small children. Now life is smiling. She has a house and a garden. The next goal is a permanent job. Amal has been a stay-at-home mom for many years. Now she wants to go to work. Photo: Tina Brock / news Single breadwinners are prioritized It is the municipality of Drammen with a joint effort from Nav, Competenseteam Levekår and the housing service with the help of the Husbanken that has made the house dream possible. It is this model that the municipality has used to help Amal with her own home. Families with children who rent move more often than those who own. Giving children in low-income families a stable upbringing is important in the municipality’s housing work. As a single parent without a permanent job, Amal was caught up and is now part of NAV’s Qualification Programme. Kjersti Liberg is an adviser in Drammen municipality. – Amal has four children who live at home, and we know how important it is to create a stable living situation for children, she says. Around ten low-income families receive this help each year in Drammen. Welcome inside! Amal loves her new house. Photo: Tina Brock / news 115,000 children live in poverty The poverty line in Norway is calculated at NOK 247,000, according to the EU indicator. The rich are getting a bigger share of the pie, and the number of poor is rising, figures from Statistics Norway show. Today, 115,000 children live in poverty in this country. Jon Epland in SSB. Photo: Per Lristian Lie Løwe Jon Epland is a senior advisor at Statistics Norway. – The statistics show a clear increase in low-income families from 2009 to 2017. After that it has leveled off a bit, but there are more and more people with persistently low incomes, especially families with children, points out Epland. The food queues at the Salvation Army in Drammen have never been longer than this autumn. And it is especially families with children who struggle, according to the Salvation Army. This is how Statistics Norway measures inequality Fears increased poverty in the municipalities: – I hope the government sees how important this is The Church’s Urban Mission is concerned – What is needed now is more money for those living below the poverty line. That’s what Adelheid Firing Hvambsal says, who is general secretary of the Church’s City Mission. During Arendalsuka, she met Minister of State Kjersti Toppe. Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) met secretary general Adelheid Firing Hvambsal in the Church’s City Mission during Arendal week. Photo: Tina Brock / news The government claims that they have already done a lot to help poor families with children. Kindergartens have become cheaper, and core time in SFO at the 1st stage is free. They have increased the social assistance rates and the housing benefit scheme, according to the Ministry of Children and Families. – Do you want to increase support from the state for those who are considered poor? – I cannot say anything now about new priorities before the state budget is presented, but in this work we are looking at everything, says Minister Toppe. She highlights changes to the tax system that will make things better for those on low incomes. Got a minister’s visit Earlier this year, the Minister for Children and Families visited Amal’s home to hear about the housing process. Minister Kjersti Toppe has set up an expert group for children in poor families. – They will give us advice on how we should prioritize our efforts in the coming years, to ensure good growing conditions for children, and reduce the number of children growing up in poor families. What’s more, we must manage to prevent poverty from being inherited in the longer term, says Toppe. Kjersti Toppe has visited Amal to hear about the process for buying her own home. Photo: Thea Finstad / Ministry of Children and Families The aim for Amal is now to get out into work. Today, she has an internship at a nursing home, and she hopes that this can result in a permanent job. – How long will you be staying here? – Whole life! And then I hope one of the children will take over after me, she says. Drammen is not alone in helping single parents with housing. Kristiansand, Bærum and Oslo work in a similar way. Hello! Hello! We’ve asked the public which issues you want to read about. Many answered that we should write more about the differences between rich and poor. Do you have tips for more things you want me to write about? Please contact!
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