Erikshjälpen Framtidsverkstad in Helsingborg celebrates 5 years

Activities coordinators Damir Softic and Mariam Zaoujan tell us how Erikshjälpen Framtidsverkstad has developed and how they see the future. During the anniversary, we get to meet Ismet, one of the first young people at the future workshop in Adolfsberg. Today he is a committed leader himself.

- The Future Workshop means a lot to me. Here I have gotten help with school, practiced in the second-hand shop and gotten help with finding my first job. I have participated in various leadership trainings and now I organize football trainings and tournaments for other children in the area.

It is in Erikshjälpen Second Hand's shop at Måndagsgatan 6 in Adolfsberg that children and young people's dreams for the future take shape. At Erikshjälpen's Future Workshop, they get the opportunity to explore their driving forces, strengthen their abilities and feel that they can influence the development of their own neighborhood.

- For many, it's simply about finding their voice and daring to believe that it matters," says Mariam. "With us, each individual is supported to develop, not only as a person but also in community with others. It's about more than just activities - it's about building self-confidence and faith in the future.

The celebration included a breakfast with cake. The guests included various professionals working with young people in the area. Neighborhood police officers, social services and politicians, who all meet the same young people, but in different roles.

- " Erikshjälpen Framtidsverkstad is the glue that holds our collaboration together," says Christina Wideland from the City Planning Office in Helsingborg, who works with "Mitt Adolfsberg" and the "Trygghetsprojektet". "We are so happy that you are here to stay.

Collaboration was indeed the key word of the morning. Around the coffee tables, both opportunities and challenges were discussed. Lenah and Olivia, area police officers in Adolfsberg, talked about the concern they felt after Adolfsberg's leisure center closed last year. But how safety in the area could still be maintained by Erikshjälpen together with actors from the City of Helsingborg and various youth associations filling the void together.

- "Many people in Adolfsberg don't even believe they have a future," says Lenah. "Together we can build trust and confidence in the adult world and instill hope in young people.