Homeless women get a sanctuary: Feels unreal

 

Homeless
Women are hard hit by homelessness: “Here I can be free from violence”

Amela Mahovic

Updated 10.12 | Published 07.39
 

Quick version

• Västerås City Mission is opening a shelter with ten sleeping places exclusively for women.
• Many homeless women avoid seeking help for fear of being a nuisance and due to previous experiences of violence.
• The project will be evaluated in March and aims to meet the needs of women living in homelessness, which is partly unknown due to a large hidden number.

Women on the street live in a constant struggle for safety. Now Västerås City Mission is opening a shelter exclusively for women – a chance to sleep in peace in a world where they are often vulnerable and invisible.

– Being able to be free as a woman is very important, says Sabina Berg, who has been homeless for a year.

Maria Kalijärvi, who has been homeless for many years, opens the door to a public toilet.

“Welcome to our home! We often joke that toilets and staircases are our homes,” Maria says, laughing.

She is just one of thousands of women who currently do not have a home of their own in Sweden. Of Sweden’s approximately 27,000 homeless people, around 8,700 are women, but the hidden number is large because many women avoid seeking help from the authorities.

Maria ran away from home when she was 10 years old and life on the streets has been characterized by substance abuse and temporary sleeping places. She has slept in shelters, but anxiety has driven her back out onto the streets.

“As a woman, I want to be able to fend for myself and I want to avoid being a nuisance,” says Maria.
Maria Kalijärvi ran away from home when she was 10 years old, and since then she has been homeless on and off.

Maria Kalijärvi ran away from home when she was 10 years old, and has been homeless on and off since then. Photo: Jerker Ivarsson

During the day, the City Mission's shelter provides services for the city's homeless, but in the evening, the service is converted to sleeping accommodations exclusively for women.

At the City Mission's new shelter in Västerås, there are now ten sleeping accommodations reserved for women. The shelter offers security and a break from vulnerability.

– The need is great. Around 70 people are currently living in acute homelessness in Västerås, of whom around 30% are women. Many spend the night with friends or in public places. The project will run until the end of March and will be followed up at the beginning of next year to see the need going forward, says Sofie Grand, social manager at City Mission.

Sofie Grand, social manager at Stadsmissionen. Photo: Jerker Ivarsson

” A lot of violence and abuse”

We meet Sabina Berg on site inside the hostel. For a year she lived as a homeless person. An existence she describes as tough.

- I followed men who could pick locks, but in the end I couldn't take it anymore. You can never be left alone, she says.

After getting clean from addiction and finding accommodation in a hostel, Sabina is now looking forward to a new future.

- I am grateful for the community I have found here and for the fact that other women now have the opportunity to sleep in peace, she says.

Sabina Berg is currently living in a hostel and is looking forward to entering the job market. Photo: Jerker Ivarsson

What is the difference between sleeping in a mixed hostel compared to one that is only for 

women ? 

 

– You get to be a woman for a while, shower in peace and paint your nails, have girl talk and think about yourself, says Maria Kalijärvi.

Life as a homeless person is dark. But there are glimmers of light. In Maria's case, a move to a co

mpletely new location awaits her soon, as she has been given a first-hand contract.

– An early Christmas present, there will be coffee and breakfast in the morning, unreal and big, says Maria Kalijärvi.

Maria will soon be moving into her new home. She hopes it will be a new start in life. Photo: Jerker Ivarsson