When someone met him with trust, his life turned around

These days his mornings start with a workout, then work, family and meetings at church — a quiet, settled life in Sarpsborg with his wife. It wasn't always like this.

The 47-year-old from Fredrikstad, in south-eastern Norway, spent much of his life in hard criminal circles. He became addicted to drugs at just 16, served several prison sentences, and describes himself back then as worn out, confused and without hope for the future.

"I didn't want to live the life I was living. I was tired of it. I tried to find a way out more than once, but it felt completely impossible. I had almost given up," he says.

Growing up, and as an adult, he had grown used to being seen as a certain kind of person.

"I always felt people looked down on me because of the life I'd led. They associated me with that world."

He describes days shaped by shame, drugs, anxiety and heavy medication.

"I was caught in the middle of everything. Confused and exhausted. I honestly couldn't see a way forward."

"Just one more thing to get through"

When he came to Marin Omsorg — a marine-based work and rehabilitation project — through a community sentence, his expectations were low.

"I thought: 'Oh great, one more thing I have to get through.'"

That feeling changed quickly.

"Once I got there, I thought it was really good. Straight away I had the sense that this was something I'd want to do more of. Working outdoors, in nature."

But what made the strongest impression was the people, and the way he was treated.

"There was something about those people."

For the first time, he experienced something he wasn't used to.

"They knew exactly who I was, and they still welcomed me with open arms. I was shown trust and respect. I could just be myself."

Realising it wasn't all punishment

Over many years he had built up a deep distrust of both people and systems.

"I was completely stuck in the idea that everything was rubbish, that nobody wanted to help me. Everything felt like punishment."

It took time before he thought differently.

"I've learned that there really is help out there. I had to dare to let go of everything I thought I knew. To dare to accept help."

He describes it as a gradual process, with several things falling into place at once. He came into contact with Blå Kors (the Blue Cross), a charity working with addiction; he got help with his finances, became drug-free, and started to see possibilities instead of limits.

"I realised there was a way out of something I thought was completely hopeless."

"You're asking me?"

One moment he still remembers clearly was something that might have seemed small to anyone else. For him, it became another turning point.

One day Runar Arnesen came over and asked whether he wanted to take part in an underwater operation as part of a clean-up project.

"He said he'd been thinking of me, and wondered if I wanted to join the underwater operation for Elv og hav [River and Sea]."

His first thought was: you're asking me?

"I was over the moon. I'd never been given a chance like that before."

It wasn't just about the task. It was about being seen, being trusted — about someone believing he had something to offer.

Finding somewhere to belong

During his time at Marin Omsorg, he found something he had missed for a long time. A sense of belonging.

"Once I felt I fitted in a little, I found other places where I could fit in too."

He points to that sense of inclusion as one of the most important things he took with him.

"I hadn't expected to be included."

In time, the working days became something he actually looked forward to.

"It was the first time I didn't dread going to work. I had good days."

A life he never thought possible

Today he has held a steady job as a lorry driver for around two years. He is married, expecting a child with his wife, and describes his everyday life as calm and good.

"I'm doing really well. Things have turned out better than I ever thought they would."

Looking back on the life he led, the contrast is stark.

"I'm the one no one thought there was any hope for."

He pauses for a moment.

"My life has completely turned around. I never imagined I could have a life like this."

That's why he has a clear message for others in situations like the one he was once in.

"A lot of people don't trust systems, or people. I didn't either. But take a chance and give it a go. There is help out there. It works."

His story isn't about everything becoming easy. It's about the good things that can happen when a person truly feels seen, included, and part of something.

About Marin omsorg:

• A social-enterprise project combining care for people with care for the environment, in which participants clear rivers and the sea of marine litter
• Run by the Norwegian environmental foundation Elv og Hav in partnership with the Norwegian Correctional Service and Blå Kors (the Blue Cross), serving as an alternative to fines and partial prison terms, as well as a measure within community service, electronic-tag sentences and addiction rehabilitation
• Gives participants work experience, social skills and a sense of everyday mastery through physical activity, time in nature and a clear sense of contributing to society
• Launched in Fredrikstad in October 2019 and expanded to Kristiansand in 2021; more than 150 clean-up operations completed
• Supported by MARFO and Handelens Miljøfond (the Retailers' Environment Fund)