Európai Ifjúsági Portál
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Homelessness - services and resources

Two young people, dressed warmly, drinking coffee. Source:
The number of young people who are homeless has increased in recent years, and it may be an even larger number than what we can see statistically.

Homeless young people

Young people who become homeless often find it difficult to seek help from official resources and may choose to sleep on the couches of their friends or on buses or trains. 


This is made even more difficult because many Swedes are unaware that some young people struggle with these kinds of issues, and because social services, according to some young homeless people, don't help when requested to. But many organisations who work with homeless people can be a resource and help the homeless in their contacts with officials and social services. 


Homeless immigrants

Another group of homeless people where the statistics may not accurately reflect the size of the group is the homeless immigrants. Many of these are so-called EU-migrants (or Schengen migrants) and many are refugees or immigrants without asylum papers. This is the reason why the statistics regarding this group may not be correct. 


This group of homeless people are particularly vulnerable since they often don't have any social safety nets in the country where they are living and it is difficult for them to obtain information about how and where they can get help. They've often also borrowed money to travel to Sweden to try to start anew, but haven't been able to find employment here. 


Text: Martin Memet Könick