Working to End Youth Homelessness

Hjem til Alle (A Home for Everyone) is an alliance of 24 partners united by a shared goal: ending youth homelessness in Denmark. The alliance brings together municipalities, civil society organisations, housing actors and philanthropic foundations to ensure that all young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness gain access to stable housing and the support they need — also known as the Housing First approach.

The alliance works to improve the national framework for homelessness interventions while simultaneously supporting change at the local level. Its approach combines knowledge-building, mobilising support for reform, and launching concrete projects and models that demonstrate what real change can look like in practice.

Driving a New Direction for Homelessness Policy

Despite repeated efforts to solve the issue, homelessness has continued to rise for many years. In the latest national homelessness count in Denmark, approximately 6,000 people were registered as homeless, including 1,600 young people under the age of 30.

At the same time, both local experiences and data have shown that Housing First works. In 2023, the Danish Parliament adopted a political goal of ending long-term homelessness.

By bringing many actors together around a shared direction, the alliance helps drive the systemic change needed to end youth homelessness.

A Long-Term Transformation

Transitioning to Housing First requires significant change within municipalities and strong collaboration across sectors. Financial structures, legislation and institutional cultures can all stand in the way of ensuring that young people receive sufficient and coordinated support. At the same time, there is a shortage of affordable housing, and too many young people at risk are not supported early enough before ending up homeless.

The alliance is committed to following these changes all the way through, ensuring they create meaningful impact in the lives of young people. This requires persistence, collaboration and a willingness to rethink the role each sector plays.

“The municipalities that have succeeded in significantly reducing homelessness are those that have worked strategically to combine access to housing with sufficient social support.”
— Kira West, Director of the Hjem til Alle Alliance Secretariat

Why an Alliance?

Homelessness is a societal issue that cuts across sectors and therefore requires much stronger collaboration between actors. The alliance is built on the principles of Collective Impact — a framework for creating structural change through strategic coordination and collaboration among a broad range of stakeholders.

Hjem til Alle was founded in 2016 when four organisations — Bikubenfonden, Realdania, Helsefonden and the City of Copenhagen — joined forces to address the rapidly increasing rate of youth homelessness in Denmark.