Researcher calls for action: Invest in people

Written by Rasmus Balle Hansen

Socially vulnerable Greenlanders risk homelessness when they move to Denmark. But it doesn’t have to be that way, says a researcher. She urges investment in people before they end up homeless.

Not everyone gets the dream start they hoped for when purchasing a one-way ticket to Denmark. Research indicates that socially vulnerable Greenlanders often fall through the cracks of the system meant to support them.

“It’s a system that forces socially vulnerable Greenlanders into a downward spiral that they can hardly fight their way out of. Greenlanders in Denmark are Denmark’s responsibility, but we are not taking that responsibility.”

These are the words of Mille Bianco Schiermacher, an anthropologist and Ph.D. student at Ilisimatusarfik, who has been studying socially vulnerable Greenlanders’ encounters with the Danish system since 2010.

 

“Why must they experience homelessness before we invest in them?”
– Mille Bianco Schiermacher

Homeless shelters: the first (and last) stop

For the past 14 years, Mille Bianco Schiermacher has worked with socially vulnerable Greenlanders, holding positions on the Council for Socially Marginalized People and at institutions like the Greenlandic House in Copenhagen and Kofoed’s School. In 2020, she published the report From Greenland to the Streets, which examines how socially vulnerable Greenlanders experience their transition to Denmark.

“My research shows that many enter through vulnerable environments, such as homeless shelters. Here, a door is opened to all the negative aspects. A shelter is not a steppingstone to a better life; it’s more of a downward spiral,” says Mille Bianco Schiermacher.

In her 2020 report, she interviewed a 58-year-old woman who shared:

“Many stay. They don’t get better, only worse. One day you hear: ‘He or she is dead.’ You don’t get help here; you have to fend for yourself.”

A homeless shelter is only intended to house people temporarily. However, according to Mille Bianco Schiermacher, many socially vulnerable Greenlanders experience waiting years for housing. The longer they stay in a homeless shelter, the harder it becomes to leave, she explains:

“A homeless shelter is a very chaotic environment. All research on homelessness shows that the longer you stay in these environments, the more vulnerable you become. You are trained in vulnerability.”

Based on the findings of From Greenland to the Streets and her years of experience, Mille Bianco Schiermacher is now working on a Ph.D. project focused on what she calls “a flawed system.”

Mille Bianco Schiermacher is an anthropologist and a Ph.D. student at Ilisimatusarfik.
Photo by: Mille Bianco Schiermacher

Investing in people

In her Ph.D. project, Mille Bianco Schiermacher examines the challenges socially vulnerable Greenlanders face – both in terms of cultural differences and a system that exacerbates their difficulties instead of supporting them.

“I am particularly interested in the ‘middle group’ – those who are socially vulnerable but not yet severely marginalized,” she says, adding:

“This group may carry certain challenges, but there is much to gain, both humanly and economically, through early intervention.”

The middle group includes Greenlanders who had jobs before coming to Denmark but, in encountering the Danish system, have been neglected rather than supported. Mille Bianco Schiermacher describes this as a form of social warehousing, where the system places socially vulnerable individuals in homeless shelters instead of investing in them as people.

 

“We need to help socially vulnerable Greenlanders before they end up in homeless shelters. If we want to pride ourselves on free movement, it must apply to everyone.” 
– Mille Bianco Schiermacher

 

Lost in the system

As part of the solution, Denmark is implementing a new initiative called the Housing First strategy. It aims to ensure that municipalities quickly find housing for socially vulnerable Greenlanders. If a Greenlander stays in a homeless shelter for more than two to three months, the municipality will face financial penalties.

In addition, the Danish Parliament has allocated approximately 36 million Danish crowns to support Greenlandic citizens in Denmark starting in 2027, with 10 million Danish crowns specifically aimed at young Greenlanders who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Mille Bianco Schiermacher sees these as steps in the right direction, but questions why help only comes after the damage is done.

“Funding is primarily allocated to help socially vulnerable Greenlanders out of homelessness. Why must they experience homelessness before we invest in them?” she asks.

Better collaboration

According to Mille Bianco Schiermacher, vulnerability could be prevented through better cooperation between Greenland and Denmark. She points out that socially vulnerable Greenlanders end up in limbo when moving from Greenland to Denmark because no one takes responsibility for them.

“Important processes are halted, leaving the individual stuck,” she says, referring to laws that currently leave Greenlanders in Denmark falling between two systems.

Mille Bianco Schiermacher emphasizes that systems are created by people and can therefore be changed. Solutions are not unattainable.

“We need to help socially vulnerable Greenlanders before they end up in homeless shelters. If we want to pride ourselves on free movement, it must apply to everyone,” she says.

Building bridges Denmark Greenland PhD University of Greenland