DC HÄRLANDA
www.harlanda.goteborg.se
The number of young people in Härlanda has grown in the last few years. Work is in progress to create a youth centre in the former prison, and preventive measures are being taken to combat vandalism and drug abuse. At the same time the number of citizens in the oldest age group has risen and there is growing pressure on care resources.
| HÄRLANDA | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| The first figure is for the district and the second for Göteborg in total during 2002, unless otherwise stated. | ||
| No. of inhabitants | 19,739 | (474,877) |
| Percentage of children 0–15 | 15.5 | (17.3) |
| Percentage of pensioners over 65 | 19.3 | (14.7) |
| Average income, KSEK (over 16) 2000 | 177.7 | (174.6) |
| Percentage of job applicants 18–64 | 3.3 | (4.1) |
| Percentage of people with higher education (20–64) 2001 | 49.0 | (38.9) |
| Percentage of gainfully employed (20–64) 2000 | 75.9 | (69.5) |
| Percentage on social security benefits | 4.1 | (9.5) |
| Social security benefits paid, SEK per inhabitant* | 985 | (2,128) |
| * Excl. introduction remuneration. | ||
Health has long been an issue on the agenda in Härlanda. This is now being taken a step further with the integration of health policy in every aspect of life in schools and pre-schools. Children in Härlanda’s schools and pre-schools will be encouraged to be active. Less sitting still will make children healthier. The public health festival in September is now a tradition in Härlanda. Schoolchildren also took part this year when they ran or walked the “Health Circuit” that starts in Skatås.
The youth initiative in Härlanda and Örgryte for young people between 16 and 20 is taking on a more concrete form. During the year the youngsters themselves have begun work on renovating premises that were part of the former prison. These will provide a photography studio, IT room, band rehearsal rooms, a café and much more.
The districts regard this initiative as a democracy project, and various methods for giving young people greater influence will therefore be tested and discussed.
Härlanda is also giving special attention to young people who are at risk. Various occupational groups in recreation, schools, pre-schools and individual & family care are working together in many different ways on prevention measures for this group.
Youth workers still have a good working relationship with the police force, despite police cutbacks in this area. They work together on issues concerning alcohol and drugs. A special service has been set up in Härlanda to work on “youth welfare”. The aim is to gather data in order to describe the situation of young people in Härlanda in a useful way.
A project has been set up for older children in collaboration with associations and insurance companies to reduce vandalism and the risk of becoming involved in crime. Extended collaboration between the recreation centre and Kålltorpsskolan means that recreation leaders work half the day on social activities at the school and then meet the youngsters at the recreation centre. Many young people in need of support have got to know recreation leaders at school, and this has then led on to activities at the recreation centre.
Since summer, Härlanda has been involved in an EU project on strategies for local youth work. Italy is in charge of the project, and Härlanda is taking part along with 15 other regions from the same number of countries, as well as nine Italian provinces. The first seminar was held in Rimini in October, where there was a debate about the EU’s new white paper written for and by young people – “A new impetus for European Youth”.
Social security costs continued to fall during the year. However, the reduction did not meet expectations and Härlanda has not achieved its goal of halving social security costs.
In April 2002 a special social security coordinator was appointed to review all long-term cases where the individual could possibly do some work, and to recommend measures in cooperation with the Handicraft Group, which is an occupational training unit. Härlanda also has a social worker at the Public Employment Service to make things easier for people who are unsure whether they can still find places in the employment market.
No pre-school waiting listHärlanda has eliminated its waiting list for pre-school during the year. By taking a flexible approach that includes temporary pre-school departments it has been possible to offer places to all those children who need them. Departments providing a total of around 40 places were opened in spring.
As in other districts, pre-schools in Härlanda face problems due to a shortage of qualified staff. Staff from pre-schools and the human resources department in Härlanda have visited educational institutions and Public Employment Service offices to try to promote interest and get more people to apply for training courses that lead to jobs in pre-schools. Pre-schools are also collaborating with Göteborg University, and Härlanda is providing work placements to student teachers.
Further efforts will be made to improve the security of children in pre-school, including assigning children their own “responsible teacher”. The responsible teacher takes greater responsibility for the individual child. The key priority is ensuring good communication with parents to reassure both the child and its parents and maintain confidence in pre-school activities.
Growing public interest in alternative schooling has led to an increase in the proportion of Härlanda pupils in independent schools. The delay in the completion of Torpaskolan has also influenced pupils’ choices. Because the number of children in the district is also falling, schools in Härlanda must be made as attractive as possible to pupils. Steps in this direction include improvements in the school working environment that are taking place at Kålltorpsskolan and the new Torpaskolan.
Other important factors for making schools attractive include raising the health profile through a combination of physical and cultural activities, and the fact that a very high proportion of pupils achieve passes in the core subjects in year 9.
The proportion of very old people is growing in Härlanda. Activities during the year have focused on meeting the growing demand for care of the elderly. The places available in the district have been fully occupied.
Care of the elderly has not succeeded in making resources stretch to all the Härlanda residents who need special accommodation. There are still long waiting lists for accommodation for people with dementia and places in homes for the elderly.
Despite a population increase in the very oldest age groups, the number of Härlanda residents in special accommodation fell from 419 in February 2002, to 382 in December.
The financial deficit for care of the elderly amounts to almost SEK 11m for 2002. Despite everything, this high figure is less than forecast earlier in the year. This was achieved through diligent efforts to assess the need for support so that more people could continue living at home, combined with placements in other accommodation and speeding up discharges from hospital for elderly people who had completed their treatment.