“We all need support when we lose our footing. Then society must be there as a guarantor and this is what no longer works, ” writes the Church of Sweden in a notice. A first meeting was held on Thursday and the idea is to try to mobilize non-profit forces when the municipal support for the vulnerable patient group is withdrawn.

"We can be the last outpost, but we can also gather people in need of support and be an entry point to further help in society," says Anders Hedberg, deacon at the Swedish Church in Luleå.

Would prevent madness

At the end of September, Luleå municipality's support team, the so-called CM team, which has worked with people with both mental illness and substance abuse problems for almost 15 years, will be shut down.

It was after Sweden was briefly hit by several acts of madness that the so-called Case Management teams came into being, a type of support team for people who simultaneously suffer from both mental illness and abuse and who often end up between the chairs. Luleå was one of the first municipalities in the country to test the method, which is based on coordination between psychiatry, substance abuse treatment, social services and other authorities.

"Better to collaborate than to shut down"

Even though the end of September is approaching, there are still no new forms of collaboration to take care of the patient group, something that upsets relatives.

"I can't understand why you put down a business that worked so very, very well for the people who are affected and their relatives," says Ulla Bergeros, who has a close relative who has been greatly assisted by the CM team in Luleå.

- Why remove the team with the existing skills? There is no need to shut down, but instead to work together and get even better, says Ulla Bergeros.