Homeless will present their Copenhagen
11-01-2010

Copenhagen tourists and citizens will have a unique opportunity to see Copenhagen from a different angle when Project Poverty Walks during the summer 2010 offers tours in the town guided by homeless people.

In connection with the European Year For Combating Poverty Project Outside wants to turn the traditional Copenhagen-sightseeing upside down and give visitors the opportunity to see the city in a different perspective, that is the perspective of the homeless. This happens through the Project Poverty Walks, sightseeing-tours in Copenhagen guided by a homeless person.

During the tour the participants will hear about how the guides experience life in the street as well as they will be presented to poor districts  historic monuments and places in Copenhagen they would never go to.

- Poverty Walks is an example of empowerment and an alternative way to reduce the gap between the homeless and other citizens. This will give the homeless the opportunity to let their voice be heard and to tell how the world looks from their angle.I this way their fellow citizens and tourists taking part in these city walking tours will have an idea of a world that might be rather unknown to them, says the project manager, Susannah Larrabee Sønderlund.

Alternative employment opportunity

The recruitment of the homeless to be trained for the job has already begun. A professional guide will be in charge of the training of the homeless as city guides.

The routes will be organized by the homeless in cooperation with their teacher. Besides a job as a guide the homeless will also receive a certificate of having carried through this course.

- We also hope that Poverty Walks, being an alternative employment opportunity, might build a bridge to a labour market which can be chaotic and confusing, continues Susannah Larrabee Sønderlund.

With this initiative Project Outside wishes to call on the marginalized and exposed.   The idea comes from Holland and Belgium where alternative city tours guided by homeless people have been a great success. It is the plan that tourists and citizens of Copenhagen can join the first Poverty Walks in Copenhagen at the beginning of this summer.                   

Realdania, which works for a better quality of life in city areas supports the project with 100.000 Danish kroner.

- Realdania cares a lot about social conditions in city areas and also about the need of creating spacious cities where everybody can find a place to live a good life. Poverty Walks is a very interesting project that shows the diversity of the town, the good things as well as the bad things, and focuses on the conditions of the homeless and marginalized groups in the town, says the project manager from Realdania, Marianne Kofoed.

 

Project Poverty Walks has received financial support from:

The Bikuben Foundation, The Jascha Foundation, The Carlsberg Ide Bursary, The Nørrebro Local Committee, The Employment- and Integration Committee, the Fund for Voluntary Social Work of the Social Ministry, the Lauritzen Foundation, the Tryg Foundation, the Committee for Danish General Education, and Realdania.