Homelessness in Finland

[3] Finland has adopted a Housing First policy, whereby social services assign homeless individuals homes first, and issues like mental health and substance abuse are treated second.

[7] A further study of Finland's Housing First program found that giving a homeless person a home and support resulted in cost savings for the society of at least €15,000 per person per year, with potentially even higher cost savings in the long term.

[6] These cost savings for society are in part a result of reductions in usage of emergency healthcare, police, and the justice system when homeless people are given a home.

[9] In addition, the constitution grants Finnish citizens "the right to receive indispensable subsistence and care", if needed.

[11] Since 1987, the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (Finnish: Asumisen rahoitus- ja kehittämiskeskus; ARA) has been publishing annual statistics related to homelessness.

The decommissioned underpass tunnel near the gas bell of the power plant in Suvilahti , Helsinki in 1985. The tunnel served as a place for the homeless to stay in the 1980s.