Emergency shelter in Copenhagen 2009
16-03-2009

On the second of January 2009 projekt UDENFOR in co-operation with five other organisations opened an emergency shelter for homeless people from Eastern Europe living in the streets in Copenhagen.

The cooperation between these six organizations was set up already last year as the needs of this group of homeless persons became clear to all of us.

Today, after a short period of  ten days, we realize that, compared to last year, a much larger number of these people, especially Poles and Rumanians, make use of the possibility of staying overnight in the shelter.

The doors of the shelter open every night at eleven and close again at midnight. We welcome our guests with a meal (warm soup, bread and tea or coffee) and at midnight everybody goes to sleep.

Breakfast is served between seven and eight o’clock.

This year Mrs Signe Larsen has been engaged to be present at the shelter every night so that the guests are welcomed by the same person every time they come.

Mrs Larsen speaks Russian, a language familiar to most of the languages of the guests, so the communication is much better and it is easier for us to know the needs of our guests.

The atmosphere in the house is calm and agreeable, the guests are grateful and polite and they always give us a hand by clearing the tables and cleaning up the house.

The following organisations are co-operating on maintaining this shelter: Kirkens Korshær, Missionen blandt hjemløse (Mission among Homeless), Cathedral of Copenhagen, Kofoeds Kælder and projekt UDENFOR. The drop-in centre Oasen is housing the shelter.

Recently the private organization Carematch has joined the project taking care of the shelter one night every week.

We still have a need for volunteers. Interested? Please call Brian Sørensen, phone 21620588 for further information.

A volunteer must be at the shelter at half past ten p.m. to help preparing the welcoming of the guests. It is possible to get a few hours sleep during the night and at half past six in the morning breakfast must be prepared for the guests who are called upon at seven o’clock. When they have finished their breakfast they have to leave the shelter at eight o’clock and the volunteers are then free to leave.

Pour lire ce texte en francais – cliquez-ici

Brian Sørensen & Serap Erkan