Sweden: Christmas Not so Merry for the Homeless

The night is quiet and calm in the small town of Sjöbo, Sweden. It’s getting closer to Christmas and decorations are lighting up the town. Most of the people living here are at home, asleep in their beds.  There’s just a few people on the streets. One of them is Bengt Arne Andersson. He’s walking around to try and stay warm.

[Bengt Arne Andersson, Homeless Person]:
„It´s cold. I’ve got no sleeping bag for tonight. I need to find one for tomorrow.“

Bengt has been homeless for more than 6 years. And finding places and ways to sleep can sometimes be difficult.

[Bengt Arne Andersson, Homeless Person]:
“I sleep on wooden sticks, or sometimes I get hold of a couple of newspapers to sleep on. That keeps me a little bit warmer. Cell plastic is good; it’s warm and nice to sleep on. I used that when I slept in the park.”

Sleeping outside is often very hard. It’s exhausting physically and psychologically.

[Bengt Arne Andersson, Homeless Person]:
“I get no rest in my mind. When I sleep, after 30 minutes I get these horrible nightmares.”

But even when life is a dark tunnel, there are people who try to help. But sometimes for Bengt, it’s hard to accept it. This year, Bengt has been invited to five Christmas dinners. But he doesn’t want to attend any of them.

[Bengt Arne Andersson, Homeless Person]:
“I’m not going to celebrate Christmas either this year. I’ve been invited to five Christmas dinners. But I said no thanks. I have no will to do it.”

The memories of the past and of what brought Bengt to this situation, along with feelings of hopelessness are hard to leave behind, and hard to escape.

[Bengt Arne Andersson, Homeless Person]:
“I sit down for half an hour, then I just have to start walking. It’s my mind…I start thinking about all the bad stuff.”

When we’re together with our families this Christmas we might want to spare a thought to those still wandering the streets in the cold.

Johan Nilsson, NTD Sweden

(NTDTV)