Ground was made in Finland — what about Canada?
On Jan. 16, the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa organized an event to discuss the success of Finland’s Housing First approach to homelessness, and how these lessons could be applied to a Canadian context.
In 2007, Finnish policymakers abandoned the “staircase approach” to government housing, through which housing was only provided to individuals who had been treated for substance abuse or mental health issues.
In consultation with the Y-Foundation, Finland’s largest non-profit landlord, the Housing First policy was launched. Now, individuals would not have to earn the basic right to housing. Instead, housing was provided as the first step towards wellbeing.
The policy was a success, seeing long-term homelessness decrease by more than 50 per cent between 2008 and 2020.
The event on Jan. 16 brought together the CEO of the Y-Foundation, Teija Ojankoski, and Canada’s Federal Minister of Housing, Sean Fraser, along with the Y-Foundation’s Head of International Affairs, Juha Kahila, and the CEO of the National Association of Native Friendship Centres, Jocelyn Formsma.
Kahila explained how housing assistance in Finland is currently a combination of granting living spaces and giving ongoing support to formerly unhoused individuals through support workers.
“Our approach is not one-size-fits all,” he said. “80 per cent of [our clients] live in individual apartments and meet with support workers…and 20 per cent live in Housing First units, with 40 apartments in one building and support services on site.”
Ojankoski emphasized that the Housing First initiative was only possible because of a united political will to end homelessness across both left- and right-leaning factions in Finland. “And the money,” she added.
Finland’s jurisdictional housing model differs from Canada. The government of Helsinki, Finland’s capital city, owns 70 per cent of the land within city limits. It has a zoning monopoly. One in seven residents live in city-owned housing. This is not the situation in Canada, where most city land is privately-owned.
In response to these facts, Minister Fraser said, “It’s a proven point that big problems can be solved. The reality is that we tend to complicate problems because they’re big. Part of it is driven by the jurisdictional challenges we have, for sure. But when you actually see someone else who’s solving the problem…it gives me faith that it can actually be done.”
“Jurisdictional issues should not be an excuse for inaction,” said Formsma. “We’ve seen the ability to make heaven and earth move when there is the proper pressure. During the beginning weeks and months of COVID, we saw unprecedented collaboration amongst governments, amongst civil societies.”
“What is the acceptable number of people dying every year because we don’t have homes for them?” Formsma asked. “If the number is none, then what are we actually putting in place today, tomorrow, next week?”
The event ended with a short speech from Kaite Burkholder Harris, the executive director of the Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness.
