Teetering on the Brink of Collapse?
Art, homelessness and hope
I was listening to a podcast this week about homelessness in Finland, and how they have largely eliminated the problem there. It’s a small country of just five million people, and back in the 1980s they had really high homelessness numbers. The government tried a radical approach to address the issue, which involved giving homeless people their own apartment with no strings attached.
Most other countries attempt to tackle homelessness with what’s called a ‘staircase model’, which is founded on a ‘treatment first’ philosophy. Homeless people are typically only placed into ‘normal’ housing when they exhibit evidence of what is called ‘housing readiness’ i.e. that they have demonstrated basic living skills, sobriety and a commitment to engage in treatment. Finland’s pioneering ‘housing first’ approach turned this model on its head, with the new premise being that if you sort out someone’s housing issues first then they can start to sort out the other problems in their life.
In 2007 the Finnish government funded a project to rent out apartments to homeless people at rates they could afford, which were covered by their housing benefit. Shelters were converted into single units with a communal space, and support was available 24/7 for as long as the tenants needed it. In this affordable…
