People dancing during the night of the homeless in Helsinki’s Kallio district in October 17 2014. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
Finland is the only country in the European Union where homelessness continues to decrease.
This is revealed in a study, released on Tuesday, that evaluated to reduce the long-term homelessness. The study was coordinated by the Ministry of Environment.
According to an international evaluation team, Finland’s national programme to reduce long-term homelessness is one of the best examples in the world of how to apply the so-called ‘housing first’ principle to long-term homelessness.
A long-term homeless person is a person who has remained homeless for over a year due to social or health-related reasons, or a person who has been continuously homeless for the last three years.
Finland’s good results base on excellent cooperation between the ministries and cities, third sector service providers, Finland’s Slot Machine Association and the Y-Foundation – all having joined forces to find solutions to these problems.
Housing first
The common thread of Finland’s homelessness policy has been the ‘housing first’ principle, which means that a homeless person is first provided with a roof over his or her head before other potential problems are tackled.
A key factor in the success of this principle has been the adequate number of support personnel and appropriately allocated support: the homeless person works together with a support person to solve practical life problems and explore opportunities for education, work and other activities, for example.
The model also involves a great deal of practical hands-on work: the support person can, for example, escort the homeless person to a health centre when necessary.
This comprehensive model has proven effective.
According to the researchers, it is clear that facilitating the individual’s normal interaction with the rest of society is the best way to both prevent and reduce homelessness.
Shortage on suitable housing
The researchers also provide recommendations for future homelessness policies.
Even though the social housing production supported by municipalities and the Y-Foundation has improved the situation, there is still a serious shortage of affordable rental housing in Finland, especially in the Helsinki area.
In fact, in the Helsinki area the shortage of suitable housing is threatening to undermine other aspects of homelessness work.
Identify risks early
The researchers also recommend more extensive investments in the prevention and early identification of homelessness.
For example, the incurring of debts can easily lead to homelessness, but if the signs are identified early, the cycle can be broken in time.
Since homelessness as a phenomenon is constantly changing, effective reduction and prevention call for the continuous development of new measures.
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Title: The Finnish Homelessness Strategy – An International Review (2015)
Authors: The international evaluation was carried out by Nicholas Pleace from the UK, Dennis Culhane from the United States, Marcus Knutagård from Sweden and Riitta Granfelt from the University of Tampere, Finland.
