Helsinki’s Radical Solution to Homelessness

[sweede]

The people who live in the homes still have to pay rent after the first three months and can be evicted if they don't or break one of the rules(for instance, some of the housing units do not allow drugs or alcohol). The idea, which makes sense to me, is that without a home the homeless have no foundation to build off of. Give them a roof over their head they can come back to and eventually things like securing steady employment will come. Of course its not that simple but that's the basic idea.

This is not unique to Finland as you see similar programs in the other Nordic countries. And absolutely not radical. In Sweden everyone should have a roof over their heads and if you have come to a situation where you have to go to shelters or sleep outdoors then there is help to get. We have a 5 point social program that applies to both single and mothers with children. When children and women are given priority, they will get vacant apartments much quicker. When I see that the discussion will be about homelessness in connection with drug abuse or mental illness, I want to describe what happens to individual men. The social in Malmö works together with deacons who have good contact with the shelters. They get in touch and ask if they are interested in getting their own accommodation.

1. They have to seek help of one's own accord and live on a clinic (closed) where they become drug or alcohol free. 3-6 months

2. Group accommodation (open clinic) with 3 others living in a large apartment with own room but sharing shower, kitchen and living room together. Every week, a mandatory visit to take the THC and urine tests. We also talk to the landlord if he has received any complaints. They are also aware that we can come uninformed from Monday to Sunday to see that they are taking care of the apartment and behave. 6-12 months.

3. The next step is to live in a test apartment. The apartment is furnished and this step is how to manage accommodation and cook and pay bills. Onve a week a mandatory visit. 3 months.

4. Since most people are not in apartment queue (can take up to 6 years before standing as number 1 for an apartment you are looking for in Malmö), you now get from the social a second-hand contract on a completely empty apartment. In this step you get what is called furniture support. You have to buy everything you need for an apartment (we obviously have price guidelines) 12 months of correct payments of bills and no payment remarks. In this step you should also seek work. 12 months and usually more.

5. If you have passed step 4, you can use the social as guarantor to find an apartment like everyone else. You have the secondary contract and the accommodation for all the time it takes before you get a clearance and can move into your own apartment.

But not everyone can handle these steps and fall back and in some cases they simply cannot even behave in the shelters when they cannot follow rules and it is forbidden to take drugs in these places. If you find it so difficult that you cannot manage in any form of accommodation, it will unfortunately be the street, but they still receive social assistance which they unfortunately use for alcohol or drugs.

 

[panamaican]

Aaah okay i was watching the community part in your post

kinda true kinda not ;they do it sneakily

Like they usually put the poor/social service guys on the other side of the neighbourhood and middle class to other side (rich have their own neighbourhoods)

For example poor on the west side
middle class in east

And a railroad to separe them

they are still in same neighbourhood but still separate

Got it. Which is where the U.S. diverged. Our private interests were able to keep them out of the neighborhoods almost entirely. So, completely different neighborhoods, districts, etc.

Curious about something - when the article says "district" within the city, what does that mean? How big is a district? How many districts within a city, etc.?

 

[Gregolian]

From your link

So the problem seems that the funding, and the political will necessary to maintain it, has dried up. If the city owned more public housing for middle income residents, maybe even luxury housing, it could be profiting off of the increased cost of housing and use those proceeds to help fund low income housing and housing first initiative. Just a thought to consider at least.

Yeah, I only really posted it up to update the situation. Couple years ago it was one of the best in the country. It's struggling now though cause the richer members (and more liberal) of the valley live in SugarHouse and Cottonwood Heights keep railing for new transient shelters and shit and when the city and county go "well, there's all this space in SugarHouse the city owns" they fucking throw a fit.

The SugarHouse liberals of SLC are the ultimate virtue-signalers. They're even better than the West Bellevue ones of King County in WA.

So what happens? The transients all congregate near the 500 South entrance to I15 which is near the old grainary buildings or end up in Magna and West Valley City committing crimes/getting beat the fuck up by the gangs.

EDIT:
That entrance to I15 is near one of the bigger nightclubs in the city and the transients have become such an issue that the bouncers legit walk patrons whether male or female to their cars.

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

Don't get excited

lmfao

 

[Gregolian]

Also, I know it's a TV show but the problem the US has run into with it's Section 8/Project housing is this:


It's not the racial thing but for some reason they just become crime magnets.

 

[Swoliosis]

i'm sure i'll get chef'd on in this thread, but by and large people in the US not only don't feel sorry for homeless people......they bother and digust many people

nobody likes moochers

that being said, something needs to be done especially here in California. Even where i live in literal Hills Have Eyes territory every single gas station/convenience store has multiple homeless people begging. Even in the summer when it's 115+ outside

that's.....a problem

Here's my take on the whole California situation. It's the neutral weather that attracts the homeless. I've met countless of them that aren't from the state, I work with them regularly in hospitals. You think these people could survive winters in the Midwest or summers in desert states?

Shit like needle exchange programs actually save money believe bit or not. It's cheaper to give a needle than to have to treat a new bloodborne disease or infection caught by sharing needles. You can't deny anyone access to treatment by law even if they aren't insured, which in turn drives up the prices more and more for people who can pay.

Many lost everything due to jobs being outsourced and having trouble finding work, getting hooked on pills due to injuries (this is another story altogether), and mental health issues that weren't properly treated due to lack of access to healthcare. Then you have your legit hobos who just choose to live this way and do menial tasks for money to get by and are generally harmless.

It's a symptom of a bigger issue that isn't really talked about and has become politicized to keep people from seeing the real problem.

 

[Gregolian]

Here's my take on the whole California situation. It's the neutral weather that attracts the homeless. I've met countless of them that aren't from the state, I work with them regularly in hospitals. You think these people could survive winters in the Midwest or summers in desert states?

Keep in mind my dad was born in 1938. He grew up in Minneapolis. The homeless there when he was a kid (and as far as I know still do) will take a rock and break a storefront and just hang out acting like they're trying to steal something random to get a Burg charge so they get to spend winter in jail with something resembling heat and food.

 

[Cole train]

Got it. Which is where the U.S. diverged. Our private interests were able to keep them out of the neighborhoods almost entirely. So, completely different neighborhoods, districts, etc.

Curious about something - when the article says "district" within the city, what does that mean? How big is a district? How many districts within a city, etc.?

i actually have no clue what they mean by district because no one in our language uses that word when talking and its very little used overall

 

[Swoliosis]

Keep in mind my dad was born in 1938. He grew up in Minneapolis. The homeless there when he was a kid (and as far as I know still do) will take a rock and break a storefront and just hang out acting like they're trying to steal something random to get a Burg charge so they get to spend winter in jail with something resembling heat and food.

I can see that happening. When I was a kid I remember the homeless also being different, usually drunks who collected cans or washed windows. Most these days are addicted to heroin or meth and are much more aggressive. It's a fucked up situation.

 

[panamaican]

i actually have no clue what they mean by district because no one in our language uses that word when talking and its very little used overall

What do you use?

 

[Cole train]

What do you use?

Only thing people really use is neighbourhood or "a part of city" like west side east side etc

 

[panamaican]

Only thing people really use is neighbourhood or "a part of city" like west side east side etc

Do you know if there's an official term? My city has specific terms. One for your local school's neighborhood. Another for your voting region for city council. They're different terms and cover different areas but they're both official.

 

[Cole train]

Do you know if there's an official term? My city has specific terms. One for your local school's neighborhood. Another for your voting region for city council. They're different terms and cover different areas but they're both official.

We dont have that

Like only time i have heard word district being used around here is police talking about patrolling areas.

It might have some spesific meaning in social services but i cant know since i havent worked there

 

[panamaican]

We dont have that

Like only time i have heard word district being used around here is police talking about patrolling areas.

It might have some spesific meaning in social services but i cant know since i havent worked there

What about a term for voting regions?

 

[Cole train]

What about a term for voting regions?

Sure they too

But when talking this homeless thing i have no idea

 

[Dr. Now]

Its hard to give everyone a home when we are flooding the UNited states with people....Fun fact if we kept whites the majority, housing would become cheaper and cheaper and more and more properties would become available because of low birth rates. It's bizzarre to me how the left wants all these things but their stance on mass immigration and "getting rid of whitey" hurts most of their beliefs.

Free shit
cheaper housing
better schools
better environment
Lower wages

 

[flashNsmash]

What do you use?

he seems like a krokodil kinda bloke if i'm being honest