From the start, the Mission had two aspirations: one was the work related to children, which consisted of removing children from their families and placing them in orphanages or foster homes; the other was to make individuals and families stop their travelling life and settle down. In both cases, cultural assimilation was the goal.

While the Guardian Act of 1896 gave the authorities permission to carry out their “child rescue operation”, the Vagrant Act of 1900 was the basis for the establishment of settlements. Through these two acts, the Mission and the authorities aimed to destroy the “vagrant evil”.

Walnum stated that Eilert Sundt’s work failed because he lacked a formalised plan, and because the government had not granted any power to carry it out.

Walnum felt that the interaction between the Mission’s volunteer work and the authorities’ enforcement was the key to the work: “Strictness and gentleness must go hand in hand”, argued Walnum. “The state represents force, the association gentleness. A good result is dependent on both working together and supplementing each other.”

The authorities made and enforced several laws that criminalised a travelling lifestyle. The Mission was given the responsibility for implementing different social welfare measures towards the group, and the authorities funded this work. This division of labour lasted until the end of the 1980s and prompted researchers, Bjørn Hvinden among others, to call the Mission “The directorate for the Romani people”.

The establishment of the Norwegian Mission for the Homeless (“the Mission”) and its work with the “vagabonds” has been called one of the darkest chapters in Norwegian social history. Many Traveller families developed ambivalent feelings towards the Mission.

On the one hand, the Mission was hated and feared. It decided who was qualified to keep their own children, and it kept tight control over Travellers around the country. On the other hand, the Mission acted as the vagabonds’ saviour. The Norwegian Mission for the Homeless followed many Romani families closely and was often the only place where they could get help. The Mission “knew best”, and the Secretary General became like a “father” to many Travellers – one who could make better decisions than the Travellers themselves could. Perhaps this presented the greatest danger related to role of the Mission? A proud people were taught to doubt their ability to evaluate their own situation (Marvik 1983, Hvinden 2000 and 2001, Pettersen 2005).   

When the special care aimed at Travellers finally ended, many were relieved, while others wondered who would take care of them. They felt that the Mission was the only organisation that really understood their situation, and that it had gained significant knowledge of the people over the years. Such knowledge was not present at the municipal level.

One third of all Traveller children, which amounts to 1100 –1500 children, were taken from their parents and placed in orphanages or foster care from 1900 to 1960.

The number of children and adults who lived at the Svanviken work camp between 1908 and 1988 is 990. There were 834 single men at Bergfløtt work camp between 1911 and 1940.