Problem addressed

In late 2016, Gothenburg was identified as one of the European cities with the highest proportion (for its size) of young jihadis joining ISIS in the Middle East. The city has also struggled with gang membership. The north-east of the city is most affected, with higher deprivation levels and unemployment rates, and poorer health indicators than the city average. The local council and community lacked methods and tools to reduce the risk of criminal and anti-social activities, anti-social behaviour, street gangs and radicalisation among young adults, or to adequately support young people at risk.

Innovative solution

In response to the the criminality and anti-social behavioursm, Young East, which consists of two projects of three years each, was developed to support young people at risk. The pilot project, known under Young East 1.0, began in 2016. It was followed by Young East 2.0 from 2019 onwards, which enabled an extension of the scope regarding honour-based violence and mental health and the further development of the project’s methodology. Both projects were funded through ESF and co-financed by the local council budget.

The Young East project developed a local partnership and platform, at both operational and strategic level, with a mix of stakeholders that traditionally did not collaborate closely. More specifically, it brings together local social services, police, job centres and the fire brigade to develop and support young people at risk of engaging in criminal behaviour. Young East works to identify at-risk young people and create opportunities for them to engage in education, work and other positive activities. With the support of transnational benchmarking, the project has adopted new tools and methods for crime prevention and support. A team of 14 youth workers combines behavioural programmes with support measures for education, training and job insertion in order to motivate young people aged 15-24 years old to avoid engaging in criminal activities, radicalisation, anti-social behaviour or honour-based violence. Through prevention and support, the project contributes to the long-term goal of reducing youth crime in East Gothenburg. It also seeks a decrease in the cost of health, housing and support services for young people by boosting their autonomy and social inclusion. The project recognises that the successful prevention of criminal and anti-social behaviour and radicalisation requires a holistic, rather than solely judicial approach.Young East is a partnership between the Administration for Social Welfare in the north-east of Gothenburg, the police, fire brigade, job centres, mental and sexual healthcare services, and the city’s units working on honour-based violence. Partners share a commitment to early intervention in respect of the needs of at-risk young people in order to prevent violence, crime, radicalisation and anti-social behaviour. The police play an essential role in assessing whether the young people identified are indeed at risk, and also follow possible legal proceedings against them. The Administration for Social Welfare acts as project manager and plays an instrumental role in establishing contact and accompanying young people throughout the cycle of identification to response. The job centres and the fire brigade support the training of participants and their integration into the labour market; the fire brigade with support from Young East created a training programme for project participants, including work placement under the guidance of a mentor. The mental and sexual healthcare services provide age-specific emotional and health support. Young East has harnessed the natural roles and responsibilities of all partners involved, facilitating excellent collaboration based on mutual understanding and trust.

Key results and benefits

Both phases of Young East have been assessed by external evaluators (please consult the following report for further information: UngaOst.pdf (framtidsutbildning.se); the second report will become available online at a later stage) . The methodology consisted of interviews with project partners, staff, youth workers and participants, as well as a quantitative analysis of results against planned targets. The evaluation results were used to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the project, with policymakers in Gothenburg sufficiently convinced that Young East now forms part of the city administration’s permanent services, meaning that they provide funding for its implementation.

The two external evaluations considered Young East a ‘well accomplished project’. At individual level, the evaluation revealed that 52% of the participants returned to education, while 16% entered into employment and 4% started an internship. The project exceeded its targets for numbers of young people re-entering school and participating in an employability programme. The evaluation also found that participants demonstrated a positive life change, and that costs of the placement of young people in East Gothenburg decreased significantly. The evaluation also found that fewer young people ended up in the care of the authorities, as the cross-professional teamwork established by project partners served as a prevention mechanism. Overall, the evaluation drew particular attention to the value of Young East’s working method and approach. The collaboration between the different partners was effective, with transnational cooperation also important to its success, in the sense that the exchange with Westminster Council was vital for the development of the project’s platform of partners, as also mentioned in the section around potential for mainstreaming. Young East also contributed to a more proactive and coordinated approach among the project partners, including social services, local police and employment offices, and provided extra support that enabled the partners to work together and share vital information.

Project participant: "Now I have hope for a bright future. Before, everything went wrong. Now I can manage my everyday life in a good way.”

Project participant: “I received help to structure my life. I experienced that I had so many problems and did not know where to start.”

Project participant: “It is good that the youth therapists do not give up.”

Participant of work placement program at fire brigade: ‘In the beginning it was hard to get used to the routines. But now I know more about what it’s like to be a fireman. Everybody is very friendly. You feel safe here. It’s my home away from home. I feel good here.’

Participant of work placement program at fire brigade: ‘It’s so cool. I am paying tax now! I am contributing in a new way.’

P. Alsterlind,fire brigade representative, partner in project steering committee and representative of work placement program: ‘They have changed their lives for the better, they have gained different values about themselves and society and they have gained an increased belief in the future’

Potential for mainstreaming

The EU’s investment in this project – through ESF – offered added value beyond financial support in that it enabled transnational knowledge sharing. Young East was designed based on experiences from Westminster, London (UK), specifically its preventive work on gang membership. That project was identified as suitably transferable by the Social Welfare Services of the north-east of Gothenburg during a networking meeting organised by the ESF Transnational Cooperation Platform (TCP) in Brussels in 2016. The involvement of the ESF TCP also allowed for two study visits to the UK in 2016 and 2017, strengthening the relationship between all Swedish partners by enhancing the sense of teamwork among very diverse partners.