P

1
The Data Collection on Homelessness in
Finland National meeting for Finland 27 February
2009 Virpi Tiitinen
2
The Housing Finance and Development Centre of
Finland (ARA) Vesijärvenkatu 11 A, FIN-15141
Lahti www.ara.fi
JL
3
Housing Market Survey (1)

• Housing market surveys since the middle of 1980's
  conducted by the national housing administration
  - Today The Housing Finance and Development
  Centre of Finland (ARA)
• The survey monitors annually the demand and
  supply of social housing including the
  recording the number of homeless people on the
  15th of November
• The data is collected from each municipal
  authority
• Co-operation between the housing authorities and
  the social authorities in the municipalities

4
Housing Market Survey (2)

• The local authority collects the data from many
  sources both in the housing and social field
• municipal housing companies and other non-profit
  housing companies
• client registers of social services
• All data from different sources is collected
  togeter, the overlap is estimated and the housing
  authority answers the questionaire
• Today the survey is made via Internet
• ARAs reports on housing market and homelessness
  base on this data combined with other information
  concerning housing and population

5
The Definition of Homeless populationThe numbers
of the last survey, 15 November, 2008The number
of long-term homeless people

• Single homeless persons (7955) (3597) (45)
• Living outdoors, staircases, night shelters etc
  (488) (283)
• Living in other shelters or hostels for homeless
  people (1028) (641)
• Living in care homes or other housing units,
  rahabilitation homes or hospitals due to lack of
  housing (1404) (1072)
• Prisoners soon to be released who have no housing
  (240) (114)
• Living temporarily with relatives or friends
  (4795) (1487)
• Homeless families (299)
• Families and couples who have split up or are
  living in temporary housing

6
Long-term Homelessness

• A long-term homeless person is someone who has
  been without steady accommodation for at least a
  year or someone who has been repeatedly homeless
  during the past three years.
• This homelessness can be caused by any number of
  social or health issues that essentially
  complicate their ability to find and keep steady
  accommodation.
• Being homeless can be prolonged due to the lack
  of adequate housing solutions or lack of housing
  services.

7
(No Transcript)
8
Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008) Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008) Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008) Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008) Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008) Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008) Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008) Homeless single persons in Finland (15 November, 2008)
    2008       Change 2007-2008 Change 2007-2008
Top ten Top ten Total   Long-term Long-term Total  
      homeless persons
1. Helsinki 3150   1591 50,5 40 1,3
2. Espoo 486   385 79,2 19 4,1
3. Vantaa 611   140 22,9 -3 -0,5
4. Tampere 608   214 35,2 75 14,1
5. Turku 347   245 70,6 18 5,5
6. Lahti 208   108 51,9 -6 -2,8
7. Jyväskylä 143   55 38,5 -31 -17,8
8. Kuopio 186   33 17,7 38 25,7
9. Joensuu 103   85 82,5 -24 -18,9
10. Oulu 112   50 44,6 -11 -8,9
Total Total 5954 74,8 2906 48,8 115 2,0
The whole country The whole country 7955 100,0 3597 45,2 422 5,6
9
Pros of the method

• A long time serie the trend is well seen
• High rate of answers
• Some 90 of the municipalities answer the survey
• All big cities, where the majority of homeless
  people are answer the questioning
• The survey promotes co-operation between the
  local housing and social sectors
• Numbers convince politicians gt easier to start
  programmes and get financial support if you have
  statistics to base on

10
Cons of the method

• The quality of the data is uneven
• The definitions of different groups of homeless
  persons are read in many ways
• The numbers can never be exact, they are always
  estimates
• The method is delicate e.g. changes in
  organisations can lead to new interpretations of
  homelessness if the processes of collecting data
  is not documented
• What is the effect of grant systems to the
  estimated numbers of homeless people?
• As a housing authority ARA has no mandate to
  operate in the social sector however the social
  authorities are key actors in surveying
  homelessness