JOHNNY GRAM | AGE 40 AND BETTINA BORREGAARD | AGE 28

Johnny Gram grew up in Tåstrup with a single, alcoholic mother the first ten years of his life. The problems at home became so serious that he ran away when he was 15 and lived on the street for two years. He started smoking hashish and taking hard drugs, and he also went to prison several times for theft. Ten years ago, he went into a methadone treatment program, met his girlfriend Bettina and now works various minor jobs.

Bettina Borregaard grew up in Copenhagen and has always felt like the black sheep of the family. She had a good upbringing, but she was tired of school, bored and began smoking hashish. Later, she was introduced to heroin and became addicted. She lived a turbulent life, but when she was 25, she decided to stop and get help. She met Johnny in a substance abuse centre and has been with him ever since.

Bettina and Johnny have lived with Bettina’s mother several times and on the streets of Copenhagen, but are no longer together.

PALLE LARSEN | AGE 49

Palle Larsen was born and raised in Copenhagen.
When he was 14 years old, Palle’s parents got divorced. He did not want to choose which of the parents to live with, so instead he left home and went to live with friends and in shelters.

Palle has been an alcoholic for many years, but was trained as radio mechanic and sailed with EAC. In 2000, he served a prison sentence and after he was release, he lived on the street for six and a half years. Although he now lives in subsidised housing in Valby, he often returns to the street environment and stay overnight.

Palle died in 2012.

LILLIAN THELIN | AGE 45

Lillian Thelin grew up on Amager with her parents. When her mother died, her father could not cope with the children, so she and her sisters went to stay in a boarding house for a few years.

She found a man from Greenland and had a daughter with him. The daughter was removed from their home when she was four and a half months old because there was too much drinking, rowing and noise. They were also thrown out of their flat and lived on the street for a while.

Lillian lost her husband a few years ago and now lives in flat in Sydhavnen in Copenhagen.

Lillian died in 2015.

KURT HOLM CHRISTENSEN | AGE 62

Kurt Holm Christensen has lived his whole life in Copenhagen. For many years, he worked as a lorry driver and at Carlsberg. He had a wife and three children, but after 18 years of marriage, he got divorced and ended up on the street. Both of his legs were amputated due to gangrene after suffering a blood clot in 1993.

Kurt lived on the street for 15 years and died in 2008.

MICHAEL ELISASSEN | AGE 33

Michael Eliassen is originally from Aarhus. When he was 11, he got a baby sister, and she received all the attention. Michael began drinking booze and smoking joints.

His friend’s father, drug addict and alcoholic, took care of him and introduced him to that world. He died, and Michael lost any joy of life and started on heroin. Later, he almost completed training as a chef, but crime and drugs had too strong a hold on him.

After a turn in prison he met a Christian woman, but her care became too much for him. He has chosen to return to the streets, which he cannot let go.

SABINA LENNART | AGE 45

Sabina Lennart was born in Greenland, but came to Denmark as a 5-year-old. She lived a chaotic life with her mother and finally ended up in a children’s home. Sabina dreamt of becoming a dental technician, but was never given any support and therefore never received an education.

She had her first child when she was 25 years old and later, she had four more children with a different man, but ended up alone with all the children when the man left her. This, she could not cope with and ended up on the street.

The children grew up in different places with foster families. After five years, Sabina got a flat, but she cannot stand being there. Therefore, she often sleeps in the shelters around the city.

CAROL LARSEN | AGE 51

Carol Larsen is Britta Larsen’s younger brother. He lived at home until he was 21 years old, has never received any education, but has had different warehouse and factories jobs.

Carol does not put up with anything and therefore has difficulty getting references from previous jobs. He became unemployed and got bored when he lacked content in his life. He began drinking, lost his unemployment benefits and his flat, and ended up on the street in 2004 where he has managed on his own ever since.

LARS SONNE | AGE 49 AND FRANK JENSEN | AGE 78

Lars Sonne is originally from Greenland, but grew up in Hillerød. After 10th grade, he travelled around in Denmark and had various minor jobs. He began drinking already as a 12-year-old because he felt restless. Because of his problems with alcohol, Lars has been homeless for long periods of his life and has never started a family.

Frank Jensen was born on Falster and grew up in Valby. Throughout his professional life he has been a lorry driver in the Nordic countries. When he lost his wife, he moved out of his flat and has since lived in rented rooms, boarding houses and reception centres or been homeless on the streets.

Both Lars and Frank live in Kirkens Korshær’s shelter in Hillerødgade in Copenhagen.

Lars died in 2012 and Frank in 2013.

JOHN THOMSEN | AGE 39

John Thomsen was born and raised in Frederikshavn. After 9th grade, he began training to become a skilled iron and steel worker, but he was bullied and began smoking hashish and taking drugs to forget. After that, he got by dealing drugs to fund his own use. He lived with friends, acquaintances and on the street.

John has now decided he wants his life back on track and has for the last two years lived in the reception centre Svenstrupgård in Aalborg.

PETER BAK DALSTRAND | AGE 41

Peter Bak Dalstrand is from Ballerup. He worked as a zookeeper for eight years at the Copenhagen Zoo and lived with his girlfriend and two children on a large property on Zealand with animals and fields, but the couple broke up when he was 30.

Peter then began drinking himself to death and living on the street.