Solutions Journalism: Ending homelessness the Finnish way

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary

4.3 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2024

⏱️ 24 minutes

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Summary

What happens if you give a homeless person a house, with no strings attached?

In 2007 Finland decided to switch to a radical new approach to homelessness called ‘housing first’, in which homeless people are simply offered their own apartment, with no expectations of them except paying the rent (usually covered by their benefits); alongside this they are given whatever support they need to remain housed, for as long as they need it. Proponents of 'housing first' argue that it is much easier for homeless people to sort out issues such as addiction or poor mental health when they have a secure home.

The results so far seem to bear this out: around 90% of people offered an apartment remain housed, a much higher rate than under the previous system. However, critics argue that the approach could be much harder to implement in countries without Finland’s extensive social welfare system or good stock of affordable housing.

Erika Benke visits the Väinölä Housing Unit outside Helsinki, an emergency shelter which was converted into 35 individual flats for formerly homeless people. What difference has having their own place made to the residents? And are they off the streets for good?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Something mysterious plagues county mayo's Gaelic football team on the west coast of Ireland.
0:06.0	When you look at the amount of times they've reached the final, you almost start believing something's not right.
0:10.0	Believing in the curse.
0:11.0	Amazing sports Stories.
0:13.0	Listen now, wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.
0:18.0	What did you think when you first saw this?
0:21.0	Wow.
0:22.0	What was the wow about the size or the size and this is actually the
0:29.9	noises apartment where I have a valued.
0:34.0	Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.
0:42.0	I'm Erica Banker and I'm looking at from the BBC World Service.
0:52.0	I'm Erica Banker and I'm looking at what happens when you simply offer homeless people their own apartment with no strings attached. Home, cozy, warm, private.
0:58.0	I just love it.
1:00.0	It's called Housing First, and it's as straightforward as it sounds.
1:07.0	First, people are given housing and then they can turn to solving the other issues in their life.
1:15.0	I think it's the beauty of the housing fairs that you know it sounds so simple.
1:20.0	You give people a home of their own and things start to happen.
1:26.0	Around 150 million people are homeless worldwide
1:31.0	and in many places numbers are rising sharply.
1:35.0	But the Nordic country of Finland is bucking this trend.
1:40.0	It has virtually eradicated rough sleeping amongst its 5 million inhabitants,
1:45.0	and it plans to end all forms of homelessness by 2027.
	...

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