Christi - Gadens Stemmer

Christi grew up in a dysfunctional family and spent her childhood in fear. When she was placed in care at 15, she was so afraid of her father that she dyed her hair and slept with the duvet over her head to avoid being found.

Her teenage years brought many placements and great confusion. She ended up at an institution with young offenders, started using cocaine, and gradually slipped deeper into a chaotic life - from party-goer to cocaine user and later heroin. Without a fixed home, she slept at night cafés at Mændenes Hjem and Reden or with various boyfriends. The municipality eventually gave up offering her treatment because they didn't believe her life could change.

A pregnancy changed everything overnight. Today she cannot imagine sitting on the public toilets where she once used heroin - and that says something about how far she has come.