PHOTO: Bildbyrån
More and more young people in Sweden suffer from mental illness.
The ski queen Charlotte Kalla has reacted strongly and has therefore become involved in Bris.
– I am concerned that so many children and young people are unwell, she says.
Charlotte Kalla has started a new life after his skiing career. In addition to the role of mother to the son Alvin She is self-employed and has collaborations with several companies.
Called initiative
Kalla has also become involved with Children’s Rights in Society (Bris) after reading about mental illness affecting more and more children and young people. She contacted Bris herself and asked to become an ambassador for the organization:
– If I were to get involved in something, Bris is the organization that is closest to my heart. Now that feeling became even more clear when I got the chance for education and to be on a study visit, says Charlotte Kalla.
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It is a subject that concerns Charlotte Kalla.
– Mental health has been a subject that I am very passionate about. To take care of yourself, not just what is visible on the outside. It is so very important to keep the mental part fresh. To work on it, says Charlotte Kalla.
– There has been an awareness. But now it’s also starting to become numbers and statistics. It does not feel at all gratifying to read in black and white what you have experienced.
“It is important”
Charlotte Kalla emphasizes the importance of adults watching the children and taking responsibility:
– It is important for the children that there are adults and help to get. Sometimes so little is needed. That someone is listening to you. It is no more than an email, a chat or a call away, she says.
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Charlotte Kalla admits that she has become more involved in this issue since she became the mother of her son Alvin last summer.
– It will be in a completely different way. It will probably only become more and more the older Alvin gets.
It is not the first time that Charlotte Kalla has taken a stand on social issues. During her active career, she refused to promote gambling companies, considering that many people feel bad because of gambling addiction.
– I feel that it is important for me to stand up for my values, says Charlotte Kalla.
READ MORE: Stina Nilsson’s serious words – now opening up about the forbidden at the side of the ski tracks: “It’s really sad”
Facts about Bris:
The Children’s Ombudsman’s annual report to the government states:
• More and more children seek contact with care for mental illness.
• Treatment with psychotropic drugs is increasing sharply.
• Last year, just under 100,000 children had to wait longer for an examination at child and youth psychiatry than the thirty days of the care guarantee. An increase of almost 80 percent in two years.
• Children testify to long waits for help – which, in the worst case, never comes. The consequences include deteriorating health, absenteeism and suicide attempts.
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