And one bit of Swedish society that is a bit invisible to the outside: it has an extremely draconian approach to drug abuse. Even though it's a Nordic country and touted for being socially progressive, drug policy here is extremely regressive when compared to Portugal or the Netherlands.
So usually the homeless I see in Stockholm are addicts (alcohol, heroin, amphetamines) that fall through the cracks of the system as they won't stop abusing substances which Swedish policies have no way around to help them, it's extremely punitive for drug use, as even use is a criminal offence. In the case you are taken in custody by the police they may force a drug test and if detected you'll be punished.
This all compounds to leave a marginalised population that has inadequate support to fight their addictions (usually caused by mental health issues) and kept in limbo between the streets and courts to be ordered to get clean.
And one bit of Swedish society that is a bit invisible to the outside: it has an extremely draconian approach to drug abuse. Even though it's a Nordic country and touted for being socially progressive, drug policy here is extremely regressive when compared to Portugal or the Netherlands.
So usually the homeless I see in Stockholm are addicts (alcohol, heroin, amphetamines) that fall through the cracks of the system as they won't stop abusing substances which Swedish policies have no way around to help them, it's extremely punitive for drug use, as even use is a criminal offence. In the case you are taken in custody by the police they may force a drug test and if detected you'll be punished.
This all compounds to leave a marginalised population that has inadequate support to fight their addictions (usually caused by mental health issues) and kept in limbo between the streets and courts to be ordered to get clean.