Involvement of the homeless people

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Involvement of the homeless people

• users citizens

clients
patients
partners
consumers
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When looking out over Europe it is possible in
all countries to find activities involving
users. Most visible are drug-user or user of
psychiatrie initiatives But maybe more hidden
- there are also user-involvment i the field of
homelessness in many countries.
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I will shortly give a presentation of 5 Danish
activities involving the homeless people
themselves. The 5 activities are different and
on different level.
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Five activities involving homeless people in
Denmark
- HJEMLØSEHUSET (the house of homeless people)
- HUS FORBI (street paper wrong adress)
- S.A.N.D. (National umbrella
organization for the area of marginalization and
homelessness)
- PÅ SPORET (A freak/skew housing project on
the track)
- THE COUNCIL FOR SOCIALLY MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
(a national-wide state-founded council)
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HJEMLØSEHUSET (the house of homeless people)
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HJEMLØSEHUSET (the house of homeless people)
Founded 2000 Form NGO. Board including
homeless, staff and voluntaries Economy
Supported by the Social Ministry. Activities
Café, hairdresser, bath, clothes,
washingmachine, support, lectures. Web
www.hjemlosehuset.dk
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HJEMLØSEHUSET (the house of homeless people)
Comments from involved users This is really
new and different from other services The
social network is important It is good to be
advised by one who knows how it is to be homeless
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HUS FORBI (street paper)
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HUS FORBI (street newspaper)
Founded 1996 by a fiery soul and some homeless
people Form association Economy supported
by the Social Ministry. Activities from 4
papers/year in beginning to now 7. from 20
salesmen (homeless) to now 130 salesmen web
www.husforbi.dk
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HUS FORBI (street paper)
Comments from involved users we are members
of INSP (international network of street papers
with 51 members world-wide) it is fine to be
heard important to have something to get up to
in the morning
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S.A.N.D. (National umbrella organization
for homeless)
Founded began as local user-councils in
shelters from 1996 Form Local councils are
represented in the associaltion national
association of... Economy Supported by the
Social Ministry Activities meetings,
discussions. Arrange seminars twice a
year. Web www.sand.naerudvalg.dk
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S.A.N.D. (National umbrella association
of local homeless associations)
Comments from involved users It is important
that there is a connection to a professionel
network From the beginning we were called the
grousers We wrote an alternative NAP and
from there got influence on the official NAP
concerning living conditions, lifestyle, work,
home.
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PÅ SPORET (A special housing project)
An initiative taken by a few homeless persons.
Beginning like this in late autumn of 2000
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PÅ SPORET (A special housing project)
Next spring the settlement was well-established
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PÅ SPORET (A special housing project)
From late 2001 the settlement has been accepted
by the municipality and changed into a
well-organized and permanent housing under
alternative houses for alternative persons
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PÅ SPORET (A special housing project)
Comments from involved users This is
splendid houses to splendid fellows A
temporary wintershelter has changed to permanent
homes It all began with some angry homeless
persons occupying a bit of land with some very
old mobile-homes
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THE COUNCIL FOR SOCIALLY MARGINALIZED GROUPS
This is the menmers of the council. Four of the
members of the council have a user-background.
Two have experinces as homeless
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THE COUNCIL FOR SOCIALLY MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
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Web www.udsatte.dk
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THE COUNCIL FOR SOCIALLY MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
Comments from involved users It is important
for the council to have a member who have the
experince as homeless when the council is
advising the government. It gives the basis for
a reasonable and humanistic social policy in the
future
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THE COUNCIL FOR SOCIALLY MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
The Users Have the Floor
See us as persones, not cases
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User-involvment and the Danish NAP'incl?
Yes it is there. With reference to Our
Collective Responsibility
User-involvment and the Danish Social Law?
Yes, it is there. - 112 (Lov om Social
Service) bound all municipalities to ensure that
users of all activities have opportunity to be
involved in the arrangement and utilization of
the social activities
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What is the outcome?
Measurable effects will maybe not come up. But
there may be an effect by - Minimizing the
us and them dilemma - Breaking with
traditional ways of thinking - Open for new
points of view - Empowering homeless and
excluded people
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