Soctanter på nätet

Social workers online

Who are we?
• Sarah Adler
Worked before with social investigation and
efforts directed towards homeless people and
families in need of shelter.
Currently works at a department that handles
investigations and efforts directed towards
adults with alcohol and drug abuse problems as
well as psychological- and relationship problems

• Katarina Söderlin
Worked before in a project formed to prevent
evictions carried out in Södra Innerstaden
Currently works at the same department as
Sarah
Message

Hello
I have a friend who is 24 years old and use hash
and suffers from bulimia. She has done this for
some years now and she doesn’t feel good about
it at all. She has begun to isolate herself and it
seems like she will fall apart at any time. She has
been in contact with Maria Malmö but the contact
hasn’t been that helpful. It seems harder to get
help when she suffers from two different
problems?! Can you help my friend in some way?
Thank you
Message: answer
Hello!

It’s always difficult when a person have two different problem that
intertwine. Our experience tell us that it’s always best to adress the
different problems simultaneously. In the case of your friend our
recommendation is to contact the department stated below or to
remain in touch with Maria Malmö.

One alternative to Maria Malmö is for example Alinea (040-345683)

who can help her with her drug abuse problem.

In Malmö we have a department who takes care of people with

anorexia and other eating disorders. The professionals who work there
are educated in the cognitive behavioral therapy. The team consists of
social workers, psychiatrist, nurse, occupational therapist and
psychotherapist. You and your friend can contact the reception by
dialing the telephone number 040-33 74 79 between 8-12 and 13-
16.30. After making the contact your friend will be called to a first
meeting with a professional where she can express her needs.
The department of eating disorders has an open reception, if your
friend is in need of more extensive care she will be refered to the clinic
of Idun which is a private alternative.

We wish you good luck

Sincerely
Social workers?
Facts about Södra
Innerstaden
 Around 32 000 inhabitants
 32% of the inhabitants are born in another
country
 1/3 of the inhabitants are between 20 and 30
years old
 A popular part of town with a lot of restaurants
and happenings
 At the same time, a part of town where
problems with drugs, violence and other
criminal activities are frequent
 Has the highest crime rate in Sweden
Background

 Preventive social work targeted at young

citizens in Södra Innerstaden
 The majority are young and/or students
 A lot of problems with drugs
 Notable lack of drug preventive work
 One third of the citizens are between the ages
of 20 and 30
 Risk category
 The project started on 16th of april 2007 by
initiative of two former colleagues
Purpose

 To inform and create participation around the

subject of alcohol and narcotics
 Defuse the contact with the municipality
 Simplify the contact with the municipality
 Exchange opinions between the municipality
and the citizens
Target group

 Citizens living in Södra Innerstaden

 Established drug addicts
 People who use drugs
 Friends and relatives to drug addicts
 Professionals
 People interested in alcohol- and drug abuse
problems
Method

 Forum for discussion online / Message board

 Accessible 24/7
 Social workers who answer questions
Who are the users?

 Drug addicts
 Drug users
 Relatives
 Friends
 Professionals
 Citizens with questions and ideas concerning
alcohol and narcotics, people who need
guidance in the society/need directions to get
in touch with different authorities
Questions

 Questions regarding drugs and alcohol

 Specific questions concerning individual cases
 Political debate regarding drugs and alcohol
 Questions from relatives
 Advice and guidance conserning the
community
Attitude

 Anonymous
 Official secret legislation
 Volountary
 Short time contacts online that may not
replace other contacts with the municipality
 The citizen is the focus of interest
 Meet people in the situation were they are
 Explain that we work for the municipality and
have certain laws to follow
 To keep a professional attitude
Statistics

 185 discussions and 23 829 views since the

start in april 2007
Marketing

 Information by post to 2000 youths in Södra

Innerstaden
 Distribute flyers/posters
 Published articles in different newspapers and
interviews in radio shows
 Participated in the festival of Malmö
 Participated in Workshops
Difficulties

 Initially it was hard to keep the forum ”alive”

 Different difficulties regarding secrets of
legislation
 Difficulties in marketing and development
 Time-consuming
 Difficulties in evaluating results
The name Soctanter på nätet

 Two former collegues came up with the name

 Created debate
 Got both positive and negative reactions
 Only positive reactions and opinions from the
users of the forum
 Negative reactions came mainly from
professionals
 We welcome debate
 Debate is good marketing
Result

 A lot of attention from the media and press

 Curiosity from citizens
 Reaching new target groups
 Making the social services more accesible and
humane
 Exchange of knowledge
 Increased information
 Fulfiled the purpose
 Enlightened the needs of the citizens
Future

 Would like to be able to serve the citizens in

questions and to spread information concerning
not only alcohol and drugs
 Plans to belong to another department in the
organisation
 Develop the marketing strategies
Message

Hello my daughter is 15 years old and she went to a

dinnerparty with her girlfriends. Before my daughter
went to the party, I asked the parents of the host if
there would be alcohol at the dinnerparty. The
parents denied such matters and my daughter was
allowed to go.

At one a clock my daughter came home, she was

very drunk. The parents had left the house early in
the evening. All the youths were very drunk. My
question is, who is responsible for the drinking that
evening, is it the parents of the host or someone
else? Grateful for your help!
Answer

Hello
We understand your worry and anger, it’s not always easy to be a parent of a teenager. You made
the right decision when you contacted the parents of the host.

As a parent you have the responsibility for your daughter. The people that bought or gave the
alcohol to your daughter made a criminal act and if you know who they are you can report it the
police.

A good idea is to discuss with other parents and try to form a unified front.
Discuss with the youths and tell them that you do not accept that they drink alcohol. As a parent
it’s a good idea to try and accuire the knowledge yourself about how the alcohol affects the body
and mind.Talk about this with your teenager. At Soctanter på nätet you can find links to a lot of
helpful websites that can give you information about alcohol and conserning matters.

It’s important that you as a parent tell your daugther that you do not accept her drinking alcohol.

We wish you good luck!

Sincerely

Socialworkers online
Where do you find social
workers online?
 www.malmo/soctanter.com
 Trough the Intranet
 www.malmo.se
 katarina.soderlin@malmo.se
Phone number: 0046-40-345911
 sarah.adler@malmo.se
Phone number: 0046-40-345777
Discussion

Discuss with the person on your right side

 The pros and cons with a forum like Soctanter på
nätet?
 Do you have something similar in your own
municipality?
 Do you have any ideas about how Soctanter på
nätet can develop?
 What do you think is the responsibility of the
municipality in relation to the rest of the society
and various volunteer organisations?