I was told that Swedes fix problems by passing laws. Citizens abide because they have faith in the state. Against this cultural background it was curious to see that there are no major social programs to curb drinking and substance abuse among youth. It may be that drinking is such a commercial enterprise that there are heavy duty financial interests against programs to reduce substance abuse. I was also surprised to see that, relatively speaking, Swedes don't have as many community-based programs as we seem to have in North America.
Most services are in the type of formal support from a social agency.
Community-based initiatives are not as prominent as in other countries. All in all, I was impressed by the mentality that government should support all people, and that there is no stigma attached to being a stay home parent, or being on welfare. The government affords people a lot of choice. Today I had the last interview for our family wellness project. I interviewed people in Israel, England, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, and Denmark.