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In the newly opened leisure center for the elderly and poor pensioners in the Stockholm suburb of Kärrtorp, there is a break room with freshly made beds, a shower, a living room and washing machines. Taking a hot shower is a luxury for many homeless people.
– The day we opened, Jari showered in such hot water that the fire alarm sounded, says the founder of the organization Vid Din Sida, Jeanette Höglund.
She shows a photo in a happy Jari in a bathrobe.
Kent Norén and Jari Laitinen often sit in the living room and watch television
Photo: Paul Hansen
Jari Laitinen was one of the first to visit the leisure center when it was recently opened. Before the opening of the leisure center, Jari found alternative solutions, such as swimming outdoors.
– Now it has gone from zero to everything, I have all the comforts, says Jari Laitinen.
The last 19 years has been homeless from time to time. He is a pianist and has played in Sweden, but in the entertainment center he is best known for his jokes.
– What is the name of the night flight to Moscow? Dream jet! he says.
Kent Norén, who is sitting next to Jari on the sofa, lovingly shakes his head.
– You must be careful with Jari and his jokes, he says.
– Being positive is a medicine in itself, says Jari.
Ingrid Nygren, 75, doesn’t want to get trapped in her apartment and comes to the patio to hang out with other people.
Photo: Paul Hansen
The organization by your side It is managed with gifts from individuals and businesses and aims to help homeless retirees and poor retirees. Being homeless is not a requirement for those who visit the leisure center. Ingrid Nygren has just taken a shower and is heading to the dining room for a cup of coffee when Jeanette yells at her.
– Have you eaten Ingrid? Jeanette asks
– Yes, she answers.
– You always say that, you need to eat, you know!
Ingrid Nygren has a home but he has fallen behind on his rent and is at risk of being evicted. Life after retirement did not turn out as she expected.
Doris Fuentes cooks in the kitchen of the leisure center.
Photo: Paul Hansen
– When I retired, I thought, I will take a walk around Stockholm and look around me and then it turned out that I had been completely wrong financially, so now I have a lot of debts and loans, he says.
– My little brother died and I also got sick and it is very difficult. You can’t lock someone in your solitude and then you don’t dare tell people that you’re going crazy. I decided not to be locked up, I would get out at any cost, and there were more to it as well. So we meet in the food queues for the soup kitchen and it’s easy for me to talk to people too. So I ended up at T-Centralen where I met Jeanette.
Vid Din Sida volunteers It does more than help those who arrive at the leisure center with food and clothing. Ingrid just spoke with a volunteer who will help her fix her finances.
Doris Fuentes and Anna Castelius chat with Ingrid Nygren.
Photo: Paul Hansen
– I would pay three monthly rents in advance to stay, I can’t afford it. But then Jeanette told me that they had raised a lot of money for me so that I could stay. I saw a whistle come in and I couldn’t figure out what it was for me. You get a little straighter back when you see everyone who wants to help, you get a little bit of strength.
Receive help what she got was not the easiest thing for Ingrid, who has worked as a nurse for most of her life and is more used to helping others.
– We’ve been scolding her for so long that she should get help, now she’s beginning to understand, says Jeanette.
When Ingrid has her life in order, she will start a new project, she has decided.
– I said that when I have some peace and quiet, I will start writing. I will write about my life, a story about me. I’m not going to be wordy either.
“I have the same gray color on my hallway walls at home. I wanted it to be like coming home, warm and welcoming, ”says Jeanette Höglund.
Photo: Paul Hansen
At work as a security guard Jeannette Höglund has met many homeless and socially vulnerable people in the city, but the idea of a leisure center for the elderly started with a meeting on a subway platform in Stockholm in 2016 when she was on patrol at one thirty at night. and saw a man digging in the garbage.
– I approached him and asked him what he was doing outside so late, and he replied “I don’t look at the clock, I’m a tramp” Tramp I thought? He looked so good, like a grandfather. When his wife died, he couldn’t afford to stay and then he didn’t dare ask his children and grandchildren for help because he was so ashamed.
Jeanette broadcast the situation live on T-Centralen on his private Facebook and asked for the support of his friends and followers, then received more than 32,000 crowns in donations in one week. He bought food and clothes and asked his friends for help. One Wednesday night, they went to the central station and delivered things.
– Later, in the car, I told my friend that I would open a leisure center for retirees. He had a “mission”.
The break room in the leisure center.
Photo: Paul Hansen
Find a place where he could realize the dream of a leisure center became a long process because many companies were hesitant to rent.
– I think I wrote to 150 different companies and they all had stores, but when we talked about the business it was a bit like “no, that’s not going to be good there are many addicts and criminals.” People think so, but it is ignorance. It is an older generation that is tired, poor, lonely and homeless.
After two years, Svenska bostäder contacted Jeanette Höglund and offered her a basement in Kärrtorp, south of Stockholm. The contract they have signed now runs for ten years and after a long period of renewal, they were finally able to inaugurate the long-awaited leisure center.
– This is the best thing I’ve done in my whole life, says Jeannette Höglund.
Read more:
More poor retired women seek help at the City Mission
Laila Wahl has to knit socks to cover the bills
Strong pressure on the grocery store for the poor in Hägersten
