As of: 02/18/2023 4:13 p.m
On the first delegation trip by the Ministry of Construction, Minister Geywitz is looking for solutions to one of the most pressing problems in Germany: homelessness. In Finland, there has long been an understanding that housing is a fundamental right.
The Federal Minister’s red parka stands out among the Bundestag delegation’s travel group at Helsinki Airport. He is followed by a convoy of members of the Bundestag and journalists. They all want to know how Finland is successfully combating homelessness and to what extent this could be transferred to Germany. Geywitz himself has many questions in his luggage: how do the concepts work, what does Finland do with EU foreigners who are homeless? Since the introduction of Housing First, Finland has more than halved homelessness, from 8,260 in 2008 to 3,686 homeless in 2022.
Second chance for everyone
In the Väinöla housing project around 20 kilometers from Helsinki, Geywitz meets Heikki Kakko. The 68-year-old has lived here for three years and shows his small apartment. He tells the minister why he ended up here: financial ruin came after his company went bankrupt. No job, no money and in the end no apartment either.
“Everyone in society deserves a second chance,” says Heikki Kakko, “regardless of whether you become homeless because of debt, alcohol or drugs.” He sees his own unconditional home as a springboard to a normal life. This is made possible by the Finnish state’s “Housing First” program. For him it has been three years now, the idea for this is much older.
fundamental right to housing
The turning point in Finnish homelessness policy was marked in the 1980s. The death of many homeless people in several particularly cold winters in a row triggered a social debate. It ended with the cross-party decision that housing is a fundamental right. The Finnish concept envisages making an apartment available to every Finnish homeless person unconditionally.
The aid is based on two pillars: foundations such as the “Y-Foundation” or the “Blue Cross” build and/or buy apartments and make them available. The homeless person rents the apartment, the rent is paid by the state. In addition, social benefits such as medical and psychological care and support with dealing with authorities are offered. Claiming social benefits is voluntary and not a prerequisite for being able to keep the apartment. The services are financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs STEA and also from the European Structural Fund.
Community housing
The “Y-Foundation” is one of the largest providers of “Housing First” offers in Finland, founded in 1985. It now has more than 10,000 apartments and is supported by many civil society organisations. There are different living concepts: individual apartments spread across the city or residential projects, also outside, with several residential units and common rooms. The social benefits are offered there directly on site.
Not everyone benefits
When visiting the homeless newspaper “ISORNO” in Helsinki, Geywitz learns that not all homeless people are included in the “Housing First” program. On the one hand, because there is still a lack of housing and those affected are on waiting lists, and on the other hand, because not all population groups are able to access the aid system. Because EU foreigners, according to Janne Hukka, the director of “ISORNO”, do not appear in the Finnish homeless statistics. There are other projects for them, such as warming rooms and opportunities to sell the newspaper.
The sales price is ten euros, of which the sellers may keep five euros. One of them meets Geywitz in front of the main train station in Helsinki, which is also part of the visit program. Nadia Tinuta is from Romania. She is wearing a high visibility vest and a barcode sign over it on a tie around her neck. This distinguishes her as the official seller of “ISORNO”, the sale is billed via the barcode. So she has been working in the Finnish capital for several years, although she is homeless, she says.
Without a house there is no “Housing First”
“Housing First” offers are also available as individual projects in various cities in Germany. Kai-Gerrit Venske, specialist for homelessness at Caritas in Berlin, is anything but certain whether the concept can also be completely transferred to Germany. He has been observing developments on the German housing market for more than 15 years. He welcomes the fact that the federal government has included combating homelessness in the coalition agreement and wants to end homelessness by 2030.
“Housing First” also has impressive success figures, as studies have shown, he says. However, he fears that a discussion about “Housing First” could hide the main problem in Germany: the blatant lack of affordable housing, especially too little social housing. “Without a house there is no ‘Housing First’,” says Venske, and is therefore looking at the minister’s trip with a certain degree of skepticism.
“Housing First” needs skilled workers
A few kilometers to the east of the city, the evening sun bathes Frankfurter Allee in a warm light. Elena Günzel is finishing work here. Since November, the social worker has been working in Berlin for the rental and homeless aid “My way”. Here she also helps to find apartments for the homeless. Owning an apartment is the start, says the 25-year-old, “most customers need intensive support”.
She would need help herself because she couldn’t find an affordable apartment in Berlin. “I came to this city as a skilled worker, I would like to do something useful and now I actually feel a little kidded, let’s see how long I stay in the city,” says Günzel, a little defiantly. But there is also a little hope in her voice that she will soon find her own apartment where she can relax after work.
Continuity as a recipe for success
Shortly before flying back to Berlin, Geywitz comes to the following conclusion after the two-day visit: “One secret of political success in Finland is continuity,” she says. The Finns had defined a cross-party political goal and pursued it across legislative periods and governments. In addition to the respect for this, you can also hear a little astonishment from the Federal Minister for Construction.
You can see more on the subject in the report from Berlin on February 19, 2023 at 6 p.m. in the first