Freed from Prison, Dumped Onto the Streets

Ascar Ashleen

Writer

January 27, 2026
10:53 pm

Released prisoners in Denmark are increasingly being discharged directly to the streets or homeless shelters due to unaffordable housing, creating a cycle of reincarceration that experts warn undermines rehabilitation efforts. A new documentary series follows Noah, who has been in and out of prison for five years with nowhere to go but the streets and shelters when he’s released.

From Prison Cell to the Streets

On January 9, 2024, Noah walked out of Renbæk Prison in Southern Jutland after serving six months for violence, threats, and weapons possession. While technically free, he faced an immediate crisis. He had nowhere to live.

This wasn’t his first time experiencing this harsh reality. In recent years, Noah has cycled in and out of prison multiple times, often released directly to a homeless shelter or the streets. His story is featured in the DR series “Løsladt” (Released), which documents the struggles of former prisoners trying to rebuild their lives.

Noah hasn’t had stable housing since 2020. His friend Sarah, who frequently helps him, explains the financial impossibility he faces. With his welfare benefits, Noah has only about 2,500 kroner left for rent after covering basic expenses. That amount simply doesn’t secure housing on the island of Fyn, where he wants to live.

The Housing Crisis for Denmark’s Most Vulnerable

Noah is far from alone in this struggle. According to a December 2024 study from Vive, Denmark’s research center for welfare analysis, nearly 60 percent of people experiencing homelessness have only a few thousand kroner available for rent after paying for food and medicine.

Limited Income After Basic Expenses

The Vive research reveals a stark financial picture. Between 12,000 and 15,000 people experienced homelessness in Denmark during 2024. Six out of ten of these individuals have a monthly income below 7,500 kroner after taxes. With at least 4,000 kroner going toward food and other fixed expenses, that leaves less than 3,500 kroner for housing.

This financial reality affects many people leaving prison, according to Marianne Wellberg Olsen, head of the social department at Den Sociale Retshjælp, an independent legal and debt counseling service for vulnerable and released prisoners.

The problem compounds because newly released individuals typically have no income immediately upon release. They have no savings, and applying for welfare benefits takes time. If they cannot find housing themselves, their only option is contacting the municipality to get on an emergency housing list. However, that option offers little relief, as wait times often stretch to six months.

Structural Barriers to Reintegration

Annette Olesen, a lecturer at Aalborg University who researches release and resocialization, points to a fundamental housing problem in Denmark for vulnerable people with criminal records. The transition from prison to society represents a massive upheaval, and many released prisoners encounter multiple challenges when trying to find a home.

What’s Missing in the Housing Market

Denmark lacks affordable housing for people with criminal records and housing where there’s higher tolerance for residents who occasionally step out of line. Released prisoners need realistic expectations from professionals who understand their often vulnerable situations.

Without proper housing and support, many need concrete help structuring their lives and require patience and realistic expectations. When these elements are absent, crime, drugs, and alcohol quickly become familiar solutions to their problems.

In Noah’s case, this pattern has played out repeatedly over five years. His cycle of incarceration, release to shelters or streets, and reoffending exemplifies what experts describe as Denmark’s “revolving door” prison issue. Short-term inmates like Noah face immediate release without transitional housing due to capacity shortages, contributing to recidivism rates where 40 to 50 percent of such releases re-enter prison within six months.

The Shelter System: A Problematic Alternative

This time, Noah wasn’t sleeping on the streets immediately. Sarah helped him find an available spot at the nearest homeless shelter, though such spaces are often full. Shelters are frequently the only solution for released prisoners who cannot stay with friends or family.

Despite providing a roof overhead, neither Noah nor Sarah views the shelter as a positive solution. Noah has grown accustomed to being released to the streets or a shelter over the years. For him, shelters bring the street environment inside, making outdoor homelessness seem equally viable and at least free of cost.

Sarah notices how shelters are dominated by the same environment Noah wants to escape. He must sit among people with addiction issues, which mirrors his own struggles. Noah uses alcohol to numb his psychological problems, as shown throughout the series.

Expert Views on Shelter Placements

Despite guaranteeing shelter from the elements, placing released prisoners in homeless facilities is never optimal, according to both Marianne Wellberg Olsen and researcher Annette Olesen. In fact, Olesen calls it the worst possible scenario for someone released from prison.

Shelters are often filled with people who are already struggling tremendously, including active substance users. For many released prisoners, these are the exact environments they’re trying to escape to stay clean and rebuild their lives.

Christian Harsløf, director at KL (Local Government Denmark) with overall responsibility for social services in municipalities, recognizes the shelter challenges. The housing shortage creates a massive problem because people who need safe, stable environments end up in unsuitable places. While both private and municipal shelters exist with varying conditions, no type of shelter represents a desirable scenario. Under no circumstances should shelters be considered permanent solutions.

Government Response and Future Outlook

Social and Housing Minister Sophie Hæstorp Andersen acknowledges the difficult situation facing people like Noah. In a written response to DR, she states that lack of housing should not prevent people from getting back on their feet. She recognizes that particularly in large cities, there are too few affordable housing options.

Recent Housing Agreement

The minister points to a political agreement from December 2025 designed to address the shortage. The agreement aims to support the establishment of 20,000 to 25,000 new affordable housing units over the next ten years and ensure temporarily lower rent in up to 2,000 affordable family homes.

However, Sarah finds little comfort in these long-term promises. Noah’s situation is urgent. He needs housing now on Fyn, not years from now. Without immediate housing, she believes there’s no chance of turning things around for him.

Throughout the documentary series, viewers follow Noah’s struggle after leaving prison. The situation deteriorates quickly. The shelter gives way to the psychiatric emergency room, then the streets, back to emergency care, and then the streets again. Eventually, things become so severe that a DR journalist on the program must call an ambulance.

Noah himself emphasizes that having a fixed place to live is the most important thing if he’s ever going to get his life on track. Without housing, nothing works. An apartment would give him a place where he belongs.