What can Halifax learn from Helsinki about ending homelessness?
Communities that want to eradicate homelessness should focus on getting people to live permanently without preconditions, says the architect of Finland’s successful housing strategy.
Although in many places, including Medicine Hat, Alta., with similar “housing first” programs, Finland was the first country to introduce it nationally. The capital Helsinki is now on its way to ending homelessness by 2025.
Juha Kaakinen, President and CEO of the Housing University Y Foundation, spoke with CBC Radio. About Morning Halifax on Wednesday on how the strategy works and what other cities can learn from it.
“We understand that permanent housing is the only way to provide sustainable solutions to homelessness, and temporary solutions tend to be more or less permanent,” Kaakinen said.
Listen to an interview with Juha Kaakinen Information in the morning presenter Portia Clark:
8:39What can Halifax learn from Helsinki’s approach to homelessness?
Finland’s strategy is built around the idea that housing is a human right.
According to Kaakinen, people cannot interfere in other things in their lives without a warm and safe place to live. That’s why his organization has bought or built about 18,000 low-cost units in recent decades.
In response to Nova Scotia’s growing housing crisis, the county government pledged last year to fund the construction of 178 affordable homes in the Halifax area and the Annapolis Valley.
There are also groups such as Halifax Regional Municipality and Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, which has brought temporary relief to people who need a warm place to stay this winter.
Municipal project for housing 64 people in modular apartments in two places has now risen to $ 4.9 million.
But according to Kaakinen, temporary solutions, such as a shelter and a hostel, will not work. In many cases, he said, people don’t feel comfortable or safe staying in these places, and they end up living harsh outdoors.
“As soon as the situation looks a little better, people are starting to forget that we should solve this problem in a more sustainable way,” he said.
According to Kaakinen, the “apartment first” model treats people who have become homeless like any other. They can apply for housing in an affordable rental home without preconditions and offer support as soon as they move.
Kaakinen said that of the 18,000 apartments maintained by his organization, 11,000 are typical social housing where the poor can apply for housing and where rent is supplemented by social programs.
“We also have special housing for the homeless, and then we work closely with municipalities and NGOs that know the local needs, who select the tenants and then provide the necessary support,” he said.
According to Kaakinen, the task of municipalities and cities is to provide the support that people need to stay in affordable units.
Adequate affordable housing is also important.
“In Finland, we have a policy that in every new housing area, at least 25 percent of the housing is affordable, social housing … this provides a basis for tackling homelessness in a sustainable way,” he said.
The country’s housing strategy is affecting people’s lives, Kaakinen said.
He estimates that his country – home to about 5.5 million people – has just over 4,000 homeless people, “but two-thirds of them are people who live temporarily with friends and relatives.”
“Since 2008, total homelessness has halved and long-term homelessness means that the number of people who have been homeless for at least a year and have severe social and health problems has dropped by 70 per cent,” he said.