Like the recession, Korona can be left behind in homelessness statistics, says Sanna Tiivola, Executive Director of the Association of Permanent Housing.
17.10. 18:47
Last Over the years, the phenomenon that the number of homeless people is becoming younger and younger has become apparent, says the Deaconess Institute’s Hoiva Customer Relationship Director. Heli Alkila.
According to Alkila, it is particularly worrying that homelessness among young people is often hidden homelessness that does not appear in the statistics.
“There are no books anywhere, but there is also no real help for anything,” Alkila says.
According to Alkila, young people who are excluded from the service system are often encountered by employees of the Deaconess Institute’s intoxicant work and other projects.
“Increasingly younger people are the ones who need stronger and stronger support to survive in life,” Alkila says.
Homeless the number of people and families is measured in a homelessness survey conducted by the Housing Finance and Development Center for municipalities in Ara. According to Ara, there were 850 homeless people under the age of 25 last year, which is about one-fifth of all homeless people. There was no change in the number of homeless young people recorded compared to the second year.
The statistics should also exclude, for example, young people registered with their parents who do not actually live there, says the Executive Director of the Vailla Permanent Housing Association (VVA). Sanna Tiivola.
VVA has projects to reach young homeless people.
“They are pretty poor young people who can’t get ahead on their own,” Tiivola says.
Corona time It has been a drastic experience for the homeless and the homeless, Tiivola says.
“There was a quick awakening, of course, to the fact that people who do not have a home simply cannot stay at home.”
According to Tiivola, many new people who have had a lot of financial difficulties have also come to VVA’s housing counseling during the Korona period.
“The biggest single denominator in all homelessness situations is often the financial situation.”
According to Ara, the number of homeless people decreased in 2020 by a total of 259 from the previous year. Thus, at least last year, Korona’s effects were not reflected in the number of homeless people, but Tiivola estimates that Korona may appear in the statistics with a delay.
“The effects often come in retrospect, such as after a recession. There are long-term effects that are not immediately visible, ”Tiivola estimates.
On Sunday The theme of the Year of Homeless Night is Outside – Excluded vs. Excluded. Within the framework of the theme, attention is paid to the causes of homelessness in the structures of society. In addition, the housing market is required to combat exclusion and homelessness.
According to those who organize homeless nights, the cost of housing, low income and mental health and substance abuse, among other things, increase the risk of homelessness and social exclusion.
Tiivola also wants to highlight the gendered nature of homelessness.
“The homeless have for the most part always been men. It may not have been raised enough before, ”says Tiivola.
In 2018, a follow-up study by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) found that homeless men staying in primary care have more than five times the risk of death compared to the rest of the population.
According to Ara, there were 4,341 single homeless people in Finland at the end of last year. The number of homeless families and couples was 201. About a quarter of the homeless were long-term homeless last year. Their number rose by about a hundred.
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