“I’m so thankful for Gatans Lag, they saved my life”
|Image: HWC/Rebecca Corbett
“[Gatans lag] have taught me it’s not just about the winning, they have taught me to have fun”
Last minute player turned coach, Johanna Karlson led the Swedish women’s team at the Nordic Homeless Cup in Stockholm.
Despite lots of training and preparation, The Nordic Homeless Cup didn’t quite go to plan for 38-year-old Johanna Karlson. A few days before the tournament she got injured. But she wasn’t deterred, and complete with her crutches, Johanna became the team’s newest coach.
“It was a hard time when I was injured last week, it’s also a trigger and you think about drugs, but the team at Gatans Lag were like ‘Johanna – you are a coach, you are in this’.”
Gatans Lag, which means ‘Law of the Street’ are our national partner in Sweden.
It’s not the first time an injury has changed Johanna’s plans. When she was 21 an injury changed her life forever.
“I was very good at handball, I was playing at the highest level and I got injured. I lost my identity and I got into drugs. I was a criminal.”
“I took amphetamines, I took pills, I smoked. I did everything that I could. I haven’t had a normal life. I made my money on drugs, and I took drugs.”
Joining Gatans Lag was a turning point for Johanna.
“A friend of mine had played with Gatans Lag for four years and when I got sober from drugs, he told me about it and started to get me to play. I went to that first practice, and I never left.”
“[The football] was hard, but it was very, very fun. I loved the people and everything around it.”
|Image: HWC/Rebecca Corbett
“I have been away from drugs for one and a half years. I didn’t think I was going to have a life without drugs, but football has helped me a lot. I have found some purpose. I’ve got a reason to get up in the morning, I’ve got friends who can support me, who’ve had the same problems.”
“I thought I was going to always take drugs to manage with life. It’s very hard to do it on your own, it’s very good to have something like Gatans Lag that will help you and support you.”
One of the key things Johanna likes about Gatans Lag is that they are there even when things don’t go to plan.
“When you stop taking drugs, of course you’re going to fall back. It’s not a straight road. But they always welcome you back. They know it isn’t easy. They don’t punish you if you’ve done something wrong, they welcome you back in sobriety.”
They’ve also inspired her to change her outlook and shift her focus, while giving her a place where she is appreciated for who she is.
“Gatans Lag helped me with responsibility, I have responsibility to my teammates, to the girls. That’s one of the main reasons I don’t take drugs, and I want to be a role model.”
“We are a family. All my friends I have today are in Gatans Lag, I am almost crying because it’s so emotional for me. They have helped me so much. They give me love and they love me for who I am. I always felt left out of society but here they accept me for who I am, and they like me for who I am.”
“I am happy, I love people, I love helping people. My problem is that I like to win. But that’s the thing with Gatans Lag, they have taught me it’s not just about the winning, they have taught me to have fun.”
“Today I get as much enjoyment from when someone else scores a goal as when I do. They have been sober, for two months and they come here, and they score a goal, and you can see how glad they are and it’s warming my heart.”
Watching on and supporting her and the team from the sidelines is Johanna’s mother, who had her own battles with addiction.
“I hope she’s proud of me. We have addiction in our family. She has also had addiction with alcohol. But they see me now and they say, it’s the old Johanna that’s back. They’re proud of me.”
However, because of the addiction in her family, there have been times where Johanna had to make difficult decisions.
“It’s very hard because you can’t be around it. I had to take some time away from my family. When they drink a lot, I can’t be there because it triggers me. But we [Johanna and her mother] are starting to build a new relationship, because she’s not drinking as much and I’m sober and it’s good.”
It’s not only her family who are supporting her and recognising the difference it has made, her new football family are too.
“I’ve never experienced so much love that there is in Gatans Lag. This is a family. It’s not prestige. We go out on the pitch and just have fun. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, as long as everyone plays and they’re happy.”
When we asked her if she had anything else to add, she quietly but clearly said “I’m so thankful for Gatans Lag, they saved my life.”
Gatans Lag, which translates as ‘Law of the Street’, is our national partner in Sweden. Find out more about their work.
Words: Rebecca Corbett