Eva-Maria
Strömsholm
Vaasa
"Voice of the teacher and nurse in a growing Vasa"
I am a happy, positive, and active woman who loves spending time with family and friends.
I am a registred nurse, a primary school teacher, and hold a Master's degree with developmental psychology as my main subject.
Right now, I work as a nurse, and my key areas of focus are cancer-related issues. I am active inside Finland and in Europe in various cancer organizations and working groups, aiming to develop cancer care and ensure that patients receive the support they need, including psychosocial support, peer support, and rehabilitation.
It is also important for me to be able to spend time in the forest and by the sea. To recharge my batteries, I take long forest walks, which is great therapy for recovering from my various duties.
I want to work for the wellbeing of residents across the entire Ostrobothnia region. In order for children and young people to feel healthy, we need to take action now, focusing on preventive measures. We should invest in mental wellbeing and work to prevent mental health issues.
I want to work for the best interests of Vasa and listen to its citizens: what do they think, what do they feel is missing in Vasa, and how do they want to develop our city?
Positions of trust:
- Member of the City Council in Vasa.
- Member of the Education and Teaching Board.
- Substitute member of the City Board in Vasa.
- Substitute member of the Ostrobothnia Welfare Area Council.
- Member of the Personnel Section. in the welfare area.
I have served for many years on the board of the Ostrobothnia Cancer Association and on the delegation of the Finnish Cancer Society.
I am a member of the Social and Health Policy Committee of Svenska Folktinget.
Vicechair at Gynecological Cancerpatients in Finland.
I am also running in the county elections
Visit the profile pageImportant political topics
Children, Youth, and Families
Vasa is a growing city with many students and families with children. We are already investing quite a bit in the youth and families in Vasa, but we can do more.
In order to attract more people to Vasa, we need job opportunities, but also enough daycare places so that families can have their children in a daycare center close to where they live.
We should invest more in children and young people both in the city and in the welfare area.
We should also be able to provide more support to children and students, which means we need more adults in schools and daycare centers.
Recreation, opportunities for physical activity, and culture are important to many. I want to see that Vasa continues to offer good opportunities for sportingevents as well as concerts and other gatherings.
Various forms of sports activities should be offered in a diverse way to both children and young people, as well as families.
The best schools
Children and young people are our future and it is important to invest in them.
As a primary school teacher, I am concerned about the wellbeing of children. Many who work in daycare and schools are noticing that more and more children are struggling with mental health issues, and there is still much to be done and invested in this area. By having more adults in schools, more time can be given to students and children, and it is important to provide the right support in a timely manner.
But I also want to invest in the teachers working in schools. Teaching today is more demanding than it was 10 years ago. There is more paperwork and more meetings. There is not enough time for teaching and planning. I wish we could make the job easier for teachers so they can do what they are experts in, which is teaching.
School coaches, who are present in several schools in Vasa, are a good preventive measure, and they can talk to students when needed. I am happy that, based on my motion a few years ago, we have managed to get more school coaches in schools.
School curators and school psychologists are important for students and children, and even though they have been moved to the welfare area, they are still physically present in the schools, which is great. School curators and psychologists are important adults who can help children and students, so it is essential that there are sufficient resources to hire more curators and psychologists for the schools in Vasa.
Thriving citizens
Ostrobothnia needs good, effective, and well-functioning healthcare and social services, but Vasa also needs functioning preventive activities.
Vasa currently has over 70,000 residents, and we should take care of them in the best possible way. Being able to offer everything from recreation to good working conditions, as well as culture and sports, are topics that interest many.
Vasa is, and should continue to be, a sports-friendly and culture-friendly city where we can feel good and be active. We should come up with new ideas to offer our citizens, and I believe we could involve them in this process—what do they feel is missing in Vasa, what do they want to do to feel even better.
For the elderly population living with a memory disease, the activities of the various memory associations should be strengthened so that patients can participate in the important services they need, while also giving their family members a break in daily life.
For individuals of working age, the focus in today’s world is on performance, even when one might not have the strength. Personally, I am concerned that many of us will, in the future, need support to keep up with work. It is not easy to keep up with the pace, and many cannot manage the speed. Here, preventive measures are also needed for us to be able to handle work life.
Preventive work and wellbeing also include screenings of various kinds, such as for breast cancer and cervical cancer. These screenings are important and reliable, and women can attend them for free in their own city. Although the welfare area organizes the screenings, it is important that they are available close to the citizens so that it is easy to attend.
Candidate's answers in election machine
1 / 11
Early childhood education should be free for everyone.
Early childhood education is important, and everyone should have the opportunity to have their child in daycare. The city has a table with fees according to a specific system. There are several ways to get help in covering the cost of early childhood education. Unfortunately, I believe that making early childhood education free of charge would be quite difficult, even though it would be ideal.
2 / 11
Schools should prioritize traditional textbooks over digital learning materials.
I believe that both are needed, both traditional textbooks and digital learning materials. However, I hope that in the future, there will be more textbooks in schools than digital ones.
3 / 11
One of the municipality’s most important tasks is to invest in sports facilities and opportunities for exercise and recreation.
It is important to invest in physical activity and recreation, I agree with that. But I’m not entirely sure that it is the city’s MOST IMPORTANT task (as the question asks).
4 / 11
It is important to provide all residents with equal opportunities for cultural activities.
Culture is one of the many important activities organized by the city, and both culture and physical activity as well as sports should be arranged as equally as possible.
5 / 11
The municipality should introduce or improve opportunities for residents to influence how municipal funds are used through participatory budgeting.
6 / 11
The municipality should invest in public transportation.
We have already invested a lot in public transport in Vaasa.
7 / 11
It should be possible to be a resident in more than one municipality, for example, through digital municipal citizenship.
8 / 11
The municipality should better facilitate the expansion of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.
9 / 11
The municipality should mix more housing types in planning than is currently the case.
10 / 11
The municipality should introduce anonymous recruitment.
We have this already in Vaasa.
11 / 11
If you could give a superpower to your future political leader, what would it be?
Interesting question. Actually, I would like to choose something completely different from these four options. But sure, wisdom to make good decisions is a great superpower.