BRITTA LARSEN | AGE 52

Britta Larsen grew up with five siblings in a working-class home in Fredriksberg in Copenhagen. The family was happy despite living under difficult conditions, but there was never any peace to do homework and enjoy some quiet time alone. Britta therefore got a position in the house when she was 15 and afterwards, she worked at the Heidelberg vinegar factory and later as a casual labourer.

She had a son when she was 21. The father was not of much help and moved, but she managed. In 1999, she was out of work and went on social security and could not pay her bank loans or for her flat.

Britta has lived on the street for the last five years.

GIOACCHINO LO EASELO | AGE 33

Gioacchino Lo Easelo came to Denmark for the first time in 2002 and worked as a waiter in a restaurant. He lost the job and went back home to Sicily, but did not find work and therefore returned to Denmark. He hopes to find a job, but it has not worked out for him yet. Gioacchino usually sleeps in the shelter in Stengade in Copenhagen.

ROCKY | AGE 4 1/2

Rocky is Johnny Gram’s and Bettina Borregaard’s dog.

MITZI JULENDAL | 22 YEARS

Mitzi Julendal is from Copenhagen. She grew up in a family where the father drank and she had to do the washing and hoovering. As a 9-year-old, she moved in with an old lady, where she found the love and care she did not receive from her parents.

The lady died of a heart attack and Mitzi was placed with a Christian foster family, where her friends were not allowed to visit. Later, she was sent to an independent school, but she soon lost interest in her surroundings when she started taking drugs. In the following years, she lived in different places, in shelters, in a car and on the street. Today, she lives in a flat in Copenhagen with her boyfriend.

Mitzi died in 2014.

LEE HØGSBERG | AGE 39

Lee Høgsberg was born in Germany, but was adopted to Denmark when he was one month old. He was very attached to his mother and when she died of cancer, he became violent and criminal from pure powerlessness. He was 14 years old.

Lee went sailing for a couple of years, but when he returned, he fell into the criminal environment again and became a drug addict. For 16 years, he lived alternately on the street and in prisons. Seven years ago, he was diagnosed HIV-positive, but he is on medication and gets by with a flat in Emdrup.

DION CHRISTENSEN | AGE 25

Dion Christiansen is from Glostrup. He grew up with a sick mother and lived mainly with a foster family. Dion’s mother died when he was 11 years old. After that, he had it difficult in school, but when he, as a 17-year-old, was accepted to the film and theatre school Holberg, his life changed – he began to feel success.

At the age of 19, Dion went travelling, but when he returned he had a hard time settling down again. He did not have a place to live and began living on the street. He was later hospitalised due to a drug-induced psychosis and spent the next couple of years recovering.

Dion then rented a room, but was thrown out and has lived on the streets these last years.

ANNIE KÆRSHOLM FREDERIKSEN | AGE 62

Anni Kærsholm Frederiksen used to be a doctor’s wife with a large house, cars and three children, but when her loneliness became too much, she began drinking for comfort. Problems and disagreements with her husband could no longer be hidden and they were divorced after 32 years of marriage.

Shortly after, Anni had a cerebral haemorrhage and when she was discharged, she did not get any support. She began drinking again. She could not paying the rent and ended up losing her flat and had to stay overnight in a shelter, where she was raped. Anni now has her own flat.

MICHAEL BOSERUP | AGE 35

Michael Boserup grew up in a foster family on Djursland and had a good childhood. He never got an education, but travelled around in Denmark for a few years where he also found a girlfriend. They were together for a long time, but finally broke up. It was not a conscious decision that he came to live on the street, it just slowly happened.

Michael was homeless for 13 years, but in 2008, he was diagnosed with sclerosis and is now living in a care home in Odense.

DENNIS PATRICK KNUDSEN | AGE 44

Dennis Patrick Knudsen was born in Nyboder in Copenhagen.
His father beat both him and his mother. When he was 19, he had had enough and threatened to kill his father if he continued. The family disowned him and Dennis went into the military for 3 years. When he was returned, the love of his life had found another. Dennis ended up on the street, homeless and has been for 25 years.

GHEORGHE DUMITRACHE | AGE 32

Gheorghe Dumitrache is from Buzau in Romania. The family home was destroyed by a natural disaster, so the family moved around and lived with friends and family. He has three children, whom he cannot provide for, so he is in Denmark to find a permanent job and a place to live. Gheorghe sleeps in different parks in Copenhagen.