That's what Mahmoud Anara, a security guard in the million program area Andersberg, says. Together with his colleagues Natalie Cadjo and Vania Eriksson, he himself is an example of all the efforts here.
The job is to walk around the nine-story buildings and create security.
When the children are on their way to school in the morning, we usually go that way too, says Natalie Cadjo.
For the elderly, it can be social: If someone is sitting on a bench, we sit next to them and talk, says Vania Eriksson.
“Must aim for it”
They are employed by HFAB, which owns the majority of the apartment buildings in the area. The municipal housing company has had the goal written into its business plan since 2021: Andersberg will be removed from the list of vulnerable areas by 2025.
You have to set goals for it. That has allowed us to invest, says HFAB's housing social manager Niklas Ståhl.
He inspects the asphalt around him and notes with satisfaction: No trash, not the slightest cigarette butt.
A soccer field has been built on top of a parking garage, where Nadire Kasumi plays soccer with her five-year-old grandson Altin.
She has lived in Andersberg for 34 years and thinks it has become much calmer.
Now it's safer and there are cameras everywhere.
HFAB now has an area office on site. Litter collection and exterior maintenance, which were previously outsourced, are now handled by its own staff and many of the jobs have gone to residents in the area. Young people are offered summer jobs, the bushes are pruned and the lighting is improved.
“Extra kick”
In parallel, the municipality has joined forces with an office for citizen services, daily presence of social workers and Zonen, a well-equipped meeting place for young people.
"We've worked hard for it and now it gets an extra kick," says youth coach Ayoub Shirvani about Andersberg no longer being classified as a vulnerable area.
He believes it will be a relief for everyone who lives here. The staff has noticed that many young people from other parts of Halmstad are not allowed to come here because of their parents.
"There has been a negative focus on Andersberg. Everyone who lives here is stigmatized, you could say," says Youssef Hajjaj.
Berat Feizullahu, who runs Balkan Grill, captures the development in a nutshell as he looks out over the parking lot:
Previously, there could be three to four cars burning here every day. Now there hasn't been a fire in two years.
