Speech, Debate | Why should Moss as a city have some young people who fall outside organized activity?

In Moss Avis 18.04, there is a case that the budget for Moss municipality may be illegal. I’m not going to comment on that. But it says that one of the reasons is higher costs associated with childcare than budgeted – I will, however, comment on that. I’ll try to be brief:

Having worked with child welfare services since 2017 – and with disadvantaged young people since 2013 – I would like to share some of my observations. The experience I have does not make me an expert, but I think it makes me relatively well suited to tell a little about how to see the development among children and young people.

I have stayed in Agder, and Moss is where Kristiansand and its surroundings were in 2017. Then it took two years where the everyday image of Markens (the pedestrian street in the city) was replaced with buns, ice cream and gla’ Christian southerners humming hallelujah songs to the fact that mass fights with the smashing of roads, stone-throwing and planned violence became completely “common”. I know that the vast majority of this is not logged/registered.

In Moss today, we can observe children as young as 12 (yes, I call them children) who sell drugs, prostitute themselves, threaten and commit acts of violence over low shoes in the city, in Nesparken and on snapchat. I myself have been offered sexual services after going on a few “round trips” in Nesparken and passing various children of both sexes.

What do I mean to be done? Today, people are talking about the fact that the budgets for child welfare services in several cities are high, and they are discussing what kind of cuts should be made to reduce costs. The answer to that is simple: Forget it. That will not happen. The costs are going to go up, up and even more up. And after the new child welfare reform that came in recently, it means that municipalities have to pay a larger share of their own share for children from the municipality who are placed in institutions.

A young person in a child welfare institution costs between NOK 10,000 and NOK 180,000 per day. Aftenposten writes that the average daily price is NOK 15,000. It tells me that the ones I have the most experience with start at the quadruple and end up at the top. Of this, the municipality now pays an own share of NOK 175,000 per month. That’s 2.1 million a year.

The common denominator of the young people I’ve had is outsiderness and a lack of belonging. They do not do organized sports, and have few “proper” friends. They are picked up by environments no one wants their children to be in.

Here comes my point: We can easily blame the parents of these children – I can agree that the parents are responsible for what their children do. But whether it is about will or ability are two different things. My mum had a huge desire to control everything I did when I was 12-17 – but she had little ability to find out more than about a fraction. The same applies here.

But to throw out a torch: The problem is not just at home. It is also outside the home. Why should Moss as a city have some young people who fall outside organized activity? How is it that young people stop playing football, handball, chess or indoor bandy and would rather hang out at Amfi and have the World Cup trash-talking them on social media? What does the school do to keep interest up? How is the facility situation? I know of several football clubs that have exceeded their capacity.

A football field costs 10 million, spread over ten years. A football coach costs NOK 700,000 a year. It is less than the sum for a child in a child welfare institution. Are there more people than me who think this calculation is simple?

I want to end with something Lars Tjærnås said about the situation in Oslo. “In my opinion, investing in sports, both top and bottom, is the world’s smartest investment in future health, social and integration budgets.”

Therefore, build more indoor halls, football pitches, running tracks – and make sure to maintain the tracks we already have. Collaborate even more closely with schools, parents, sports teams, and put in place even more external contacts plus a youth coordinator (unless one already exists). If this is not done, the costs at the other end will be even greater. This must be done now – in two years it may be too late.
If any parties or private individuals want to have a chat about this, you are most welcome to get in touch.