YOUNG & SAFE

Soha

When I wore my Hijab I was exposed to verbal and physical hate crimes. I always felt like a target and since then I never felt safe in my society. I got tired of always having to be scared as soon as I left my front door, so when I was 16 I started my own association called "YOUNG AND SAFE".

 This is Soha, she is 19 years old and has started her own association which is an initiative to increase security for young people in the swedish society. A symbolism that I will no longer be silent and accept living in fear, but instead fight for not only mine but everyone's security in Swedish society – Soha

I want everyone to be able to feel safe and taken care of in difficult situations. I want to make sure that those who have been victim for abuse or felt non safe have somewhere to turn. I want YOUNG & SAFE to be the help I never got when I felt insecure and scared - Soha

It is easy to forget that mental health problems for young people started much earlier than with the pandemic. Soha strengthens young people's mental state by working on something that should be a matter of course for everyone, but it is not. Safety.

I have spent a lot of my time educating myself on the subject to understand what security means to people in Stockholm. During these three years I have organized workshops, given lectures and had the honor of receiving the award for this year's Semla Junior 2020 and Raoul Wallenberg's award for young courage. I also work extra as a youth leader for Elektra which is a company that works preventively against honor-related violence and oppression and has trained about 12 young people for a whole year where we talked and met once a week to talk about democracy, racism, human rights and equality.