– I was 19, depressed and addicted to drugs, but that winter on the streets made me suicidal. To survive, you have to be awake at night and keep moving so you don’t freeze to death, says Michelle Alexandra Muren. In the winter of 2008, she and her boyfriend slept outside on a bench in the center of Oslo for a whole month. Her expression changes as she thinks back to that time. Muren is originally from Sweden and has previously had drug problems. Today, she is drug-free and works as one of the guides for “Gatestemmer”, an organization that runs city walks, and sees Oslo through the eyes of people who have spent time on the streets. But she still carries a lot of the past. Muren thinks back to all the bad memories she has from her time outside. She hopes others don’t have to sleep here in the cold. Photo: Elias Ogbai Arhe / news – Mentally difficult to sleep outside Muren says that she and her boyfriend had to sleep in shifts in order not to have their possessions stolen. The fear of violence and theft was part of everyday life. – The psychological challenges of sleeping outside in winter are just as heavy as the physical ones. Anxiety and stress do not go away by themselves. – You become paranoid about how someone tries to take advantage of people in a vulnerable situation. I still struggle with sleep problems and nightmares from my time as a homeless person, says Muren. There are measures for people who do not have a place to live. Muren and his girlfriend first lived in a hospice, but experienced it as an unsafe place. – Living in a hospice was almost more difficult than living on the streets. There was a lot of noise, drugs and it was difficult to find security and stability. Exploded capacity Winter is just around the corner and there are still many people who have to sleep on the streets in Oslo. Action coordinator Blazhka Popova in the Church’s City Mission. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Blazhka Popova, action coordinator for emergency accommodation at the Church’s City Mission, already feels that they lack capacity. Despite a fairly mild autumn, they are drawing lots to find out who gets to spend the night there. – It is incredibly difficult to send someone out into the cold again when they come to get help. A lottery for who gets to sleep a night in the heat is a surreal experience. Drawing such a lot can feel like winning the lottery, says Popova. The emergency accommodation for the Church’s City Mission in Oslo has room for 80 people each night. In the course of 2024, they have had to send someone back out into the cold 424 times due to insufficient space. – We wish we could take in everyone who needs it, but someone has to pay for it, and of course it costs money to have an open offer all year round, says Popova. “Cold amnesty” Today, poor visitors from other EEA countries make up the largest group of people in need of emergency accommodation. According to a report from the Church’s City Mission, there are up to 300 poor visitors from other EEA countries in Oslo. The outdoor section in Oslo municipality points out that they have a close dialogue with voluntary and non-profit offers regarding accommodation during periods of cold. – What do you think about the fact that there is already a lottery to get a place to sleep in Oslo? – Our experience is that the actors follow the situation closely and introduce additional measures when there is a need for it. The outdoor section is on the streets every day and evening and closely monitors the situation in central Oslo. In the event of extreme cold, we can deploy extra patrols outside at night which can ensure that people can be referred to relevant offers, replies section manager Børge Erdal in the Outdoor Section in an email to news. Section chief Børge Erdal in the Outdoor Section in Oslo municipality. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen – How do you imagine the winter for the homeless to be? – We are not aware of any changes in the emergency service compared to previous years. In recent years, Oslo municipality has practiced a “cold amnesty” when it feels like minus 10 degrees, and then Oslo municipality buys extra accommodation from the Salvation Army, says Erdal. According to Aftenposten, Oslo municipality is one of the few municipalities that gives grants to voluntary organizations to run accommodation for visiting homeless EEA citizens. – Deserves a future Today, Michelle works as a guide for street votes and for the organization Human Drug Policy Photo: Elias Arhe / news Michelle Alexandra Muren believes the most important thing you can do for someone on the street is to see them as human beings. – My self-esteem was completely destroyed after the time on the street. People don’t see you as a human being and ultimately you don’t either. Ever since Muren was 14 years old, she thought that she was not going to live until she was an adult. But in the last thought reversed. – For the first time in a long time, I tell myself that I deserve a future, I deserve not just to survive, but to live. Today the bench is empty, but perhaps someone will have to resort to it as a place to sleep this winter. Photo: Elias Arhe / news Published 21.11.2024, at 14.46
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– Difficult to send people back out into the cold – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
