Peter Fredriksson

Senior Adviser

Ministry of the Environment

Finland

Bergamo 24.10.2014

Life after achieving national

homelessness targets

Can You Lead with Targets ?

1. Can you see any significant correlation between the process of target – setting and the results in a government – led programme ?

2. Is there a balance between target – setting of the new programme (2016 - ) and available policy, economic and social instruments ?

Government programme 1987 - 1991

• Target of the government programme (1987-1991) to abolish homelessness, formulated also in the national plans of housing and social and health care

BOTTOM – UP PRESSURE AND SUPPORT

• New law on the development of housing conditions contains first legal paragraph on the tasks and duties of the municipalities in dealing with homelessness

• More extensive and centralized role of the municipalities (obligatory local housing programmes)

• Catalytic initiatives of new actors – Y-foundation, Diaconia Institute, Church, A-clinics, Settlement movement, Associations (Youth housing, Mental patients, Homeless etc)

• New constitution (1995) – basic economic, social and civic rights including the right to housing

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• TOP – DOWN PRESSURE AND SUPPORT

• Common definition, yearly statistical survey by responsible

authorities

• The new state finance system in the social and health sector

gave municipalities the right to set priorities instead of

earmarked money by the state

• New funding instruments: buying small appartments from the

housing stock and converting them to independent rented flats

for homeless ; targeted loans and grants to houses

accomadated only by homeless people

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• HORIZONTAL PRESSURE AND SUPPORT

• Collective learning – developing of new concepts: division of

physical facilities and service provision, rerenting-model,

homebased care and support, housing counselling, self-help,

foyer etc.

• Competition - Municipalities were given right to use different

alternatives in providing support services:

• (1) own production

• (2) buying from private sector

• (3) buying from third sector

Conclusions

• Abolishing homelessness “earned” in the government programme

only one short sentence without any time limits or any quantitative

or qualitative subtargets

• Nonetheless, homelessness was decreased during 1987 – 1994,

under seven consecutive years from about 19 000 persons in

1987 into about 12 000 persons in 1994

• Homelessness was adressed by both general and special

instruments of housing and social policies

• The period started a structural change in the housing and support

services for homeless people and it led to a new system, which

lasted with minor adjustments about 15 years, until the middle of

the first decade of the new century

Government programme for longterm

homelessness 2008 - 2015

• Putting long-term homelessness down to half by 2011 and

ending it by 2015

• Need to address long-term homelessness, which has not

diminished along the general decreasing of homelessness

• BOTTOM UP – PRESSURE AND SUPPORT

• Reinforcing Housing first – approach as a mainstream

organizing principle for the accomodation and support services

of homeless people

• Letters of intent with 10 biggest cities: special status, right to

get state and Slott Machine funding and extra human

resources for support work

Continue • TOP – DOWN PRESSURE AND SUPPORT

• Increases in state expenditure (2008 – 2014):

• investment grants to construction and renovation projects

under the programme, €100 million, maximum 50 % of

approved costs

• state funding for personnel expenditure for the programme,

about €20 million

• Slott Machine Association: grants for acquiring individual flats

for homeless persons and project-funding, althogether about

€70 million

• State grants to local authorities for the development of housing

advisory services

• Letters of intent: municipalities are obliged to give sites to and

fund new housing units and support services to homeless

population

• Conversion of all shelters into supported housing

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• HORIZONTAL PRESSURE AND SUPPORT

• Low threshold service centers established in several cities:

round-the-clock service, tailored evaluation of individual needs

for housing and support services, environmental work in the

surrounding areas with inhabitants, schools, day-centres,

business sector

• New concepts and new operators: preventive work for young

persons with multiproblems; supportive housing pathways for

ex-offenders etc

• National concept competition in 2009 to establish new types of

accommodation unit and services for the long-term homeless.

Conclusions

• Number of new flats built or acquired for longterm homeless single persons is 2300 (in 2013) – target is 2 500 (2015)

• Overal homelessness has decreased from 8 000 (2008)

to 7 500 (2013)

• Longterm homelessness has decreased from 2 900 (2008) to 2100 (2013)

• City of Helsinki has built about 1 000 new flats, but reduction of longterm homeless is in the same period only 176 persons > we need 5.6 new flats to accommodate one longterm homeless person !

• New support personal (social workers, housing advicers etc) has been recruited 350

• Main differences compared to previous programme: more multi-interest engagement, letter of intents replacing obligatory local programmes, huge input in horizontal diffusion and learning

Longterm homeless persons in

Letter of Intent – Cities 2008 - 2013

2008 2013

Helsinki 1591 1415

Espoo 385 223

Vantaa 140 150

Tampere 214 72

Turku 245 149

Lahti 108 57

Jyväskylä 55 33

Kuopio 33 13

Joensuu 85 21

Oulu 50 27

All together 2906 2160

IDEAS &

CONCEPTS

PILOTS &

TESTING

PUT TO

USE

SCALING &

DIFFUSION

P R E V E N T I N G H O M E L E S S N E S S

Housing First

Light support

Housing Advice &

Counselling

Outreach work,

Young persons

Housingsocial care &

Rehabilitation

Multisectoral local

Housing led networks

Funding models,

Public and private

Low threshold

Service centers

Letter of Intent

model

Housing related

Debt counselling

Housing included in

Youth guarantee

IDEAS &

CONCEPTS

PILOTS &

TESTING

PUT TO

USE

SCALING &

DIFFUSION

P R E V E N T I N G H O M E L E S S N E S S

Housing support

for immigrants

Network of

Useful Evidence

Experienced in

homelessness

Professional &

Voluntary training

IDEAS &

CONCEPTS

PILOTS &

TESTING

PUT TO

USE

SCALING &

DIFFUSION

P U T T I N G S T O P TO R E N E W A L OF H O M E L E S S N E S S

Housing First

Intensive support

Housingsocial work

Intensive support

Experienced in

homelessness

Flexible support

services

Work

Rehabilitation

Service centres for

Evaluation & Rehousing

Crises Housing

Models