Homeless Researchers: Good thing something is happening in Tasiilaq, but...

Hack, hack, hack.

The sound of knives on cutting boards fills Ilimmarfik's kitchen on a Wednesday, late afternoon.

Carrots, leeks and potatoes are being chopped while chicken is smoking in large pots. Homeless researchers Steven Arnfjord and Kevin Perry are making soup for the town's homeless. The Salvation Army's kitchen is under renovation, so they are borrowing the facilities in Ilimmarfik that day.

The mood is light, but the seriousness sets in when the question arises: Why are two researchers standing around making soup?

- This is not an area where you can only get smarter by reading books and looking at statistics. In our research approach, we must go out and have contact with the people it is about. We must feel that it is real, we must also give them some food and listen to their stories, says Steven Arnfjord, discovering that he has forgotten to put salt in the soup pots.

Both are clearly passionate about their profession. And when the topic turns to the new container homes for the homeless in Tasiilaq, there is also praise.

- It is a great job that Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq is doing there. It is a responsible thing for a municipality to try to take on a very difficult task, says Steven Arnfjord, while he continues to chop carrots.

But the effort does not go far enough.

- It's a drop in the ocean, as they say in Danish. It makes a small difference, but not enough for the huge need that's out there, and the need is great, says Steven Arnfjord.

Hidden homelessness

Tasiilaq has around 1,800 inhabitants. The latest homeless census from 2022 registered 64 homeless people in the city, a census Steven Arnfjord and Kevin Perry themselves have contributed to.

Figures from the population register show that 56 citizens of Tasiilaq in 2025 have an unknown address. But that's not the same as being homeless.

- The problem with an unknown address is that it's not a definitive homeless count that we can count on. It could also be someone who has an address, but has fled. A woman who has an address, but has fled her home because there is violence, for example, says Steven Arnfjord.

At the same time, there is what researchers call hidden homelessness. In Tasiilaq, this often means that people do not sleep on the streets, but live temporarily with family or acquaintances in houses and apartments that are already full of people.

- Because homelessness in the Arctic is very different from in Los Angeles, Copenhagen or London. The climate is warmer and more welcoming, you can sleep and spend the night in parks and the like. There are only a few months when it is really cold, says Steven Arnfjord.

The municipality has informed Sermitsiaq that there is a great deal of interest in the container homes. The waiting list now exceeds 30 people.

Temporary solutions

The eight container homes, which will soon become ten, are temporary. Residents can generally live there for up to two years.

However, neither container homes nor hostels solve the problem in the long term, according to the researchers.

- In a hostel you can get a little break, and things are actually starting to get bad for you, says Steven Arnfjord.

Kevin Perry adds:

- Hostels are part of the problem, he says.

People experiencing homelessness need more than a temporary roof over their heads. They need support and a lasting solution.

- As Kevin says, quickly into the container homes and hostels, clarification process, also out into a housing offer, says Steven Arnfjord.

The approach is called housing first, home first:

- The solution is a real home, he says.

Many end up in Nuuk

In Nuuk there are several offers for the homeless and socially disadvantaged, including hostels and the Kofoed School. That is why some from Tasiilaq are looking towards the capital.

- We have made data on those who live in hostels in Nuuk, 18 percent of them are from the Tasiilaq area, says Steven Arnfjord and estimates that this corresponds to around 30 people.

- Of course they act together with the fact that Nuuk is further along with the various offers, he says.

But the move also has a downside according to the researcher:

- It's just not good that they come to Nuuk. They also experience bullying, and also experience discrimination when they come to West Greenland.

Kevin Perry nods in recognition and talks about his research in Denmark:

- I visited something called Morgencafé and they say that there are quite often problems between those from East and West Greenland. They often have to defuse conflicts between East Greenlanders and West Greenlanders, he says.

A national responsibility

For the two researchers, one thing is clear: Homelessness is not just a municipal problem.

- It is Inatsisartut that makes the legislation and that requires cooperation between the government and the municipality, points out Kevin Perry.

Without the right legislative framework, it is difficult for the municipality to carry out the task alone.

- Hostels and container homes should be temporary solutions, he emphasizes.

The dream is a different type of housing.

- We need to build crooked homes, says Kevin Perry and continues:

- That's our favorite solution, says Steven and returns to the pots.

Soon they'll be going to the Salvation Army and serving the soup. The kitchen smells of chicken. They'll probably get some good soup.