The parent reaction for a safer youth in Bergen south has been established

– We have to practice being rude and saying no, says teenage parent Kjersti Gautestad Norheim.

On Monday evening, the police and fire brigade went to Sandslimarka. The police had received a report that a youth gang had entered a disused premises.

It smelled burnt. Several powder devices had been emptied inside the building.

The police saw 12–15 young people disappear when they arrived. In the past, witnesses have seen everything from drug-addicted adults to young people as young as 14 at the venue.

While this was going on, seven teenage parents gathered in a room at Nesttun.

They are part of an action group to ensure safer youth in the districts in Bergen south – Fana and Ytrebyda.

Now they are calling for something they themselves call a “crisis meeting” in the Fana arena in mid-April.

Drunkenness and violence

They want to take back the parental role and are concerned about how young people are doing. They point to several factors:

• Increased normalization of drug use
• Increased juvenile crime
• Increased bullying
• Increased fear of speaking up
• Increased sexual violence

The parental reaction encourages parents not to be naive – and not to tell themselves that it is unlikely to apply to their own children.

– In order to understand everyday life and the pressure our young people are under, we need to know more about the challenges associated with the youth environment and recognize that this concerns everyone, says Cathrine Lutro, leader of Natteravnene Nesttun.

“A challenge”

The initiators are FAU FAUthe parents’ work committee at the schools at all secondary schools in Fana and Ytrebygda, sports clubs, Natteravnene, The Norwegian Church, Human-Ethical Association, Young Arena and other volunteers in the district.

Youth crime in Bergen has taken a huge toll. In Fana and Ytrebygda, the police have noticed the consequences of densification, BT has previously said.

“A challenge in our district that we cannot push under the rug”, the police chief in Bergen south has called it.

Dealing with the snitch culture

Trude Vie Ytrearne works as a public health nurse in the school. While most of the young people are doing well, she says that she is “very worried” about those who are not doing well. The problems are complex. One of them is strict control of young people who remain silent, so-called snitching.

– We have to get rid of the snitch culture, so that the young people dare to speak. Many of them burn inside with serious experiences, she says.

The parental reaction is concerned that young people are exposed to sexualised content, violence and abuse, self-harm, drugs and harassment on their mobile phones.

Parents and guardians of 4,000

On 15 April, the Fana arena will be filled with parents who have children in secondary school and the first stage of upper secondary school. The group believes that the timing of the meeting is suitable. A new spring, a new rush hour and a new 17 May.

Just the celebration of last year’s national day was a wake-up call. Minors ran around. The police and Utekontakten asked parents to be much closer to the children.

– This campaign is by far a response to that. Now we invite parents and guardians of 4,000 students. Over 1,000 have already shown their interest, says Lutro.

Everyone in the parent action that BT met has teenage children. Three are FAU leaders. They say that many parents are anxious.

At the Fana arena, the police, Utekontakten, the school health service and the Moby Foundation are present.

Kjersti Gautestad Norheim is a priest and meets many young people through confirmation teaching. She puts it like this:

– I don’t support Liverpool, but I envy them their song, she says. The club anthem is called “You’ll never walk alone”.

She believes that coming together at the meeting and sharing experiences can make it easier for parents to say no.

– Everything we manage to postpone is for the good of the young people. We parents must practice being rude and saying no. Then the children can blame us, she says.

It is the parents of the youngest in the 8th grade who stand first in the Fana arena on 15 April. There it starts at 18.00, then it goes on and on throughout the evening until it ends at 21.45.

– We all have our subjective experiences, but at the meeting we can listen to the professionals’ descriptions and hear their advice, says Marte Storevik, FAU leader at Rådalslien secondary school.