International Homelessness Seminar Brings Together the Best in the Field in Helsinki in May

Finland is known to be the international exception in reducing homelessness. Nowhere else has homelessness declined continuously for such a long period. Here too, the challenge of ending homelessness is constantly evolving, and Finland has not succeeded in building a society that offers all its members a home of their own.

Reducing homelessness and the Finnish Housing First model have attracted widespread international interest. What factors explain the exceptional fall in homelessness rates? We want to bring together an international community working on ending homelessness to hear about our and the world’s successes, learn from each other and find solutions to ending homelessness.

From Local to Global Perspectives

The seminar will be opened by Teija Ojankoski, CEO of Y-Säätiö, and the value of implementing plans to end homelessness will be discussed by Juha Kahila, Head of International Affairs at the Y-Säätiö. Former Minister of Housing Jan Vapaavuori and Deputy Mayor Daniel Sazonov will discuss the successes and future prospects of homelessness reduction in Finland.

The keynote speaker will be Professor Cameron Parsell, who has spent his career studying the social and political changes needed to end homelessness. Parsell’s book Homelessness: A Critical Introduction, published last year, has won praise for its exceptionally incisive and challenging perspectives on homelessness as a social phenomenon.

International perspectives on homelessness are complemented by, among others, Andrew Boozary, a medical doctor with a focus on homelessness and health equity, and Lydia Statzen, Executive Director of the Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH), who sums up what solutions to ending homelessness work – and what don’t. The From Local to Global seminar programme and speakers can be found here.

Shared objectives call for cooperation

“The international community’s cooperation to end homelessness is valuable. Sharing good practices and lessons learned, from grassroots action to systemic change, can benefit all actors in the homelessness field.

There is no harm in being inspired when faced with very challenging and seemingly impossible social problems”, comments Saija Turunen, Research Manager at Y-Säätiö.