The Voices
Johnny, Julie, Mas, Henrik, Troels, Mia, David and Flemming. Eight very different lives, which nevertheless share a great deal in common. They all have powerful stories to tell, yet they must also be considered among the voices that are rarely heard in society. They can describe a life on the streets involving substance use, homelessness, crime, sex work, mental vulnerability, and much more. They are all guides with Gadens Stemmer (Voices of the Street) — a social enterprise that offers meaningful employment to people in socially vulnerable positions.
The guides share openly and honestly about a life on the margins of society.
Mia, 46, grew up in a home marked by alcohol, drugs, and violence. She was seven years old when she was sexually abused for the first time, and twelve when she moved out.
“It was a hard childhood and youth that led me to end up on the streets of Vesterbro.
I was already addicted to drugs as a child, so it felt natural to gravitate toward Istedgade — that’s where the drugs were. And then things escalated quickly. I became a prostitute and was addicted to drugs for many years. But I’m in recovery now and receive medication. Over time, I hope to get completely out of it. That’s my goal.”
Flemming, 58, grew up in a nuclear family with three siblings. In his teenage years, however, he fell into some bad friendships where a lot of hash was smoked. This led to heavy amphetamine use and later to heroin and pill addiction.
“When you’re addicted to drugs, you do a lot to get money for them, and I’ve had to lie a lot to survive. When I put it that way, I may sound terribly selfish — and addicts are. But you have to remember that addiction is a disease that takes over both body and mind and pushes your entire value system to the very edge.”
David, 39, grew up in the punk and squatter (BZ) scene in Copenhagen — an environment where hash and alcohol were a fixed part of the community. Later, David tried to balance work and studies while being addicted to heroin and hiding it from his family. Eventually, he had to face his situation and entered addiction treatment.
“I’ve always been good at chemistry and became curious about drugs at the age of 13–14 — psychedelic drugs. I have severe ADHD and for long periods I tried to numb it with drugs.”
Johnny, 62, grew up in a dysfunctional family with heavy drinking at home. At the age of ten, he was offered work by a neighbor, which turned out to involve sexual services in the neighbor’s home. This continued throughout most of Johnny’s childhood.
“I’ve been subjected to some truly horrible things. It’s affected me — and very much my children as well. My addiction has certainly been a form of self-medication. But I’m clean now. The only pills I take are for my ADHD — and a little something to help me sleep. I look positively toward the future and also have a wonderful partner to share life with.”
When Julie, 34 was younger she went to a party and was introduced to heroin. That became the start of a seven-year addiction.
“I lost everything: my job, apartment, car, friends, and family. I became homeless and lived in shelters. At first, I lived a double life and lied about it, but suddenly things escalated. Eventually, I ended up in treatment at an addiction center. I’m clean now, but still have to take medication twice daily to avoid withdrawal. And I talk about my life and experiences — it works very much like self-therapy.”
