– The need for help among children and young people is enormous. That’s what communications manager Adrian Lorentsson says at Mental Health Youth. He says that the need was already great before the pandemic, but that it has now escalated. – There are many people who struggle with eating problems, anxiety, depression and the whole range of mental disorders, he says. Lorentsson is happy that the government will now allocate more money. – We are talking about thousands who do not get the help they need. The money is badly needed. Then we’ll see if it’s enough, he says. He is concerned that there are not enough professionals. – Especially out in the rural areas, says Lorentsson. Ina Takle Renskaug is section manager of the school health service in the district of St. Hanshaugen in Oslo. She says that they also feel that more people need help. – After the summer, we have had a doubling of the number of visitors, she says. In the afternoon, they have a drop-in offer for those aged between 12 and 25, but it is only open two evenings a week. – The dream is that we can be open every evening, says Renskaug. – What will it take for you to have it? – We need money. We have enough of young people. Section manager for the school health service in the district of St. Hanshaugen in Oslo, Ina Takle Renskaug, says that the young people who come to it struggle more now than before. Photo: Roy Kenneth S Jacobsen / news The government will spend 900 million on young people In its proposal for the state budget, the government will prioritize several measures to help young people into work or education. They also want to strengthen the offer for mental health. Close to 900 million is set aside for these purposes. The budget increase is distributed between the Ministry of Employment and Inclusion, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Care. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will use an extra 300 million for measures within drug addiction and psychiatry. NOK 150 million will go to low-threshold offers in the municipalities. The Minister of Health and Care, Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap), points out that many people who are outside the workforce also need health services. – 70 per cent of those who receive employment verification allowance have a mental health challenge, says Kjerkol. She believes it is important for nav supervisors and therapists to work more closely together, in order to safeguard the overall framework around the young people. – But it also costs money, and then we need professionals, says Kjerkol. – How are you going to get hold of more therapists and supervisors? – There is a shortage of people in many sectors, and it will be important in the coming years to mobilize the young people who do not succeed in finding work, says Kjerkol. – We must be able to train, recruit and retain the professionals we need in the health service in the coming years, says Kjerkol. In addition, an extra 150 million has been proposed for hospital budgets, which will, among other things, go to inpatient places for mental health. Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) is clear that young people who are struggling must be caught early. Photo: Christian Breidlid / Christian Breidlid This money will be used for: Ministry of Employment and Inclusion: 220 million Introduce a new youth guarantee, which will ensure young people who need help to get into work early intervention and close follow-up as long as necessary. Strengthen individual job support (IPS) to help people with mental disorders and/or substance abuse problems transition into regular, paid work through close and simultaneous follow-up from the Employment and Welfare Agency and the Health and Care Service. Experiment with a separate grant scheme that will stimulate expanded cooperation between the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Agency and the county council on organized upper secondary education. Ministry of Education: 330 million Vocational certificates at work. More apprenticeships for the counties in the 2023 budget. Increased non-resident stipend. Increased equipment grant. Follow up on changes to the Education Act. Various measures for more people to complete the Ministry of Health and Care: 300 million 150 million goes to large and small measures that strengthen the low-threshold provision for substance abuse and mental health in the municipalities. Strengthen health center and school health services. Outreach mental health and substance abuse work aimed at children and young people in the municipalities. Board work with early detection and prevention of eating disorders. Rust measures and prevention work in the rust field (collection). Strengthen relatives’ work for those struggling with mental health and substance abuse. Strengthen and develop models for interaction regarding patients with particularly demanding and concurrent service needs. Digital venture for self-help tools and health data. Mental public health campaign – ABC Psychosocial preparedness and testing/research on trauma treatment for children and young people in the municipality. In addition, an extra 150 million has been prioritized in hospital budgets for, among other things, inpatient mental health places. Source: The Government Will introduce a youth guarantee The Ministry of Labor and Inclusion will put 220 million on the table to introduce a youth guarantee. – The guarantee is simply about young people who have fallen out of working life getting help, and then we have to strengthen the team around them, says Minister for Employment and Inclusion, Marte Mjøs Persen (Ap). She believes the nav supervisor is one of the most important tools we have. – We will not give them up. We will give them help until we succeed, says Persen. According to Persen, they will employ more NAV supervisors, in order to give young people closer follow-up. The target group is young people under the age of 30. – It is incredibly important for the individual, but also for society, she says. – It is an expression of prioritisation. The Ministry of Education will contribute 330 million to measures for completion and qualification in upper secondary education. – It is about strengthening the follow-up between secondary school and upper secondary school, but also after upper secondary school in the form of advice and help, says Education Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap). But the money is not only earmarked for those under 30. – We have around 480,000 adults who have not completed upper secondary education, and who are in dire need of working life. They are also among those who can gain qualification through the measures we are taking, says Brenna. The increase in the budget from the Ministry of Knowledge will also go towards an increase in equipment and overseas resident stipends. Part of the money will also go to the counties, to increase the number of teaching places. The government has previously announced that it must be tightened in the budget for next year, and signaled that there will be less for roads, railways and public buildings. Nevertheless, they strengthen the investment in children and young people by almost one billion. – It is an expression of prioritization, says Persen. The Labor and Inclusion Minister Marte Mjøs Persen (Ap) is clear that young people will be prioritized in next year’s state budget. Photo: Tove Jensen / news – The state cannot make friends for you Lorentsson in Mental Health Youth is happy that the government is giving more money to young people, but does not think it is the solution to everything. – More money is always important, but it is not everything. Volunteering in Norway must also be used and made visible, he says. – This is where you build networks and relationships. The state cannot make friends for you, he says.
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The government proposes to spend an extra 900 million on young people – news Troms and Finnmark
