Efforts made by social services in Copenhagen over the past 18 months to address the plight of homeless youth in Copenhagen appear to be working.
More youngsters are getting help and finding homes.
“It’s going well with our young people’s project,” said Louise Gielov, a project director at the social services centre Borgercenter Voksne, Socialforvaltningen in Copenhagen.
“We have 61 young people enlisted on our courses, and 31 young people have been given a home.”
Homes needed
Census figures tracking the homeless in 2015 showed there were approximately 200 homeless young people in Copenhagen aged 18-24.
READ MORE: Number of young homeless Danes on the rise
The goal of the program is to provide help and support to between 120 and 140 young people.
“We are unfortunately still having problems finding enough housing for young people,” said Gielov.
“Right now, there are 26 young people involved in the project who lack a permanent home and are staying with someone they know or in a shelter.”
Homes first
Social services are working with several foundations and organisations to find homes for young homeless people.
So far, they have managed to find ten new student housing units at a private college in Copenhagen for young people to move into starting on November 1.
The youth project focuses on prevention and early intervention for vulnerable young people aged 17-24. The project is based on the ‘housing first’ principle, which states the first step to improving a life is to have a safe and healthy environment to live in.
