Who is behind?
The pan-European touring exhibition is a initiative created by projekt UDENFOR in collaboration with Missionen Blandt Hjemløse and SAND.
projekt UDENFOR is a Danish NGO founded in 1997, which carry out active social work in the streets of Copenhagen. The social work is combined with training and research within the field of homelessness and social exclusion and marginalization. The NGO is a private institution, and does not belong to the public sector. projekt UDENFOR helps homeless people who are not receiving any help from the public sector.
The lack of help to migrating homeless people from the public sector is a problem, which projekt UDENFOR has been spending a lot of time trying to fight. We believe that these foreingers need help, because they are lost in a new and unknown country.
To make sure that all of Europe become aware of the flaws in the European Union when it comes to migrating homeless people, we are launching this exhibition.
Missionen Blandt Hjemløse (The Mission among Homeless) is also a Danish NGO founded in 1893 and is today a private social foundation. The NGO is running shelters, homes and social cafés for homeless, addicts and the mentally ill.
The main goals of the organisation are to prevent social marginalisation, provide help to homeless people and other marginalised individuals and enhances public understanding about these issues.
Missionen blandt Hjemlose has three major activities such as 'Mændenes Hjem' (A shelter for men) which is situated close to Copenhagen Central Station in the middle of the Red Light district. 'Mændenes Hjem' offers shelter and supported accommodations for homeless men. It also offers a nurse clinic, volunteering doctors and dentists, night café and more, for both sexes. Another important iniviative by Missionen Blandt Hjemløse is 'Kollegiet' at Gl. Køge Landevej, which is a shelter and supported accommodations for about 140 homeless men in Copenhagen, many of the residents often have alcohol abuse problems. The last of the major activities are the social cafés: Cafés for the homeless, marginalized or mentally ill, situated in different areas of Copenhagen.
SAND (The Danish National Organisation for Homeless People) is a user organisation for the homeless or the former homeless in Denmark. The organisation speaks the case of those who otherwise have nobody to speak their case.
SAND provides a social and political platform for marginalised people, and actively supports the establishment of tenants’ councils in all hostels for the homeless.
SAND’s board consists solely of users and all regional committees are represented. The board lays out the overall strategy of the organisation in collaboration with the secretariat, and set up various working groups, e.g. women and homelessness, international issues, alternative housing etc. in which all volunteers are welcome to participate.
The secretariat is the umbrella covering all the regional units and helping out where needed. We arrange regional meetings for the committees, we kit them out with information and knowledge, and we arrange education and courses for our volunteers and other homeless people who might be interested.
A sculptor in defence of humanism: The 13 sculptures in the exhibition are all made by the Danish sculptorJens Galschiøt. Welcome HomeLess has invited Jens Galschiøt to be a part of the project, because his art is eye-catching and different. The 13 different sculptures place attention to the homeless and their social problems and circumstances, but they also encourage the people passing by the sculptures to stop just for a minute or two.
Jens Galschiøt is renowned for using his art to fight injustice in the world. For example, his 'My Inner Beast' (1993) was exhibited in several European cities, his eight-meter-tall 'Pillars Of Shame' (1996) in Hong Kong, Mexico and Brazil and his 'Survival Of The Fattest' (2001) at locations around Lund, Copenhagen and Athens.