”It's about hope and participation”

”It is exciting to work in the borderland between what people need and what society offers,” says Anna Östman, sub-project manager for Lumena Conecto SUVS, which is run in the municipalities of Sollentuna, Upplands-Väsby and Sigtuna. 

The sense of having something important and necessary to offer permeates Lumena Conecto SUVS from the start.

” I am a social and behavioural scientist by background and my last job was as a case manager and Supported Employment supervisor in MIA, an ESF project with similar objectives. For me, these issues are incredibly important. It's about people's ability to be part of society,” says Anna.

As an example, she highlights one of the problems we have in the labour market today. 

”There are so many people who want a job to make a living. At the same time, there are labour shortages in many places. These groups may have difficult to find each other. That's where we can help. People feel good about being involved and contributing.”

 Even if a person needs adaptations to be able to do a certain job, this can usually be organised if you know what aids or adaptations are needed and what is available.

”The staff have different experiences and knowledge of how the authorities, municipalities and health care work. They know what support is available and how different interventions can be combined. This knowledge is worth its weight in gold. It leads to more people finding their place and being able to support themselves.”

 The SUVS sub-project offers support to people aged between 16 and 64 living in the three municipalities of the Coordination Association. Thanks to the fact that they work in parallel with several initiatives, they can provide support individually adapted to each participant.

“We work in the person-centred methods of Supported Employment, Case Management and Supported Education. The participant can be supported by both Case Management and Supported Employment at the same time, or one can merge into the other.

 The good thing is that all my staff have experience of the different agencies and organisations that deal with the different needs of participants. We sometimes collaborate with Hoppet, an organisation for young people. We can really provide a broad, personalised support.”

Anna has spent many years working on labour market issues and has seen developments. Along the way, she has seen that the structures we create sometimes clash with what people need.

”When I see that, I think that as a public servant I have to take responsibility for ensuring that the support is right for citizens.”

 One example of when it doesn't work is the increasingly digitised support. Not everyone can cope with the requirements to enrol, or register on different websites. This does not necessarily mean that they cannot work.

”I like people, I'm curious, inquisitive and try to see new ways of solving things. That's why collaboration is important. Together we can make life better for those who need support to get closer to work and study. 

 Now I look forward to working with Lumena and Conecto. There are many of us and together we are strong.”