Eradicating Homelessness: Lessons from Abroad

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Homelessness isn’t a problem exclusive to the United States. Countries all over the world are experiencing a sharp uptick in the number of people sleeping on the streets each night. According to an article from DW.com, homelessness has been on the rise in every European country for the last decade.

Except one: Finland.

So how did an entire country manage to successfully reduce the numbers of people experiencing homelessness? Through the national adoption of Finland’s Housing First policy.


Chart 1: Housing First Finland and Its Effects on Homelessness. [Source: Housing First]


The above chart demonstrates that, unlike it's EU neighbors, Finland has not only managed to prevent its rate of homelessness from increasing; their numbers are on the decline. 


What is Housing First and How is it Different?

Transitional housing programs are common in the United States. They often require that individuals achieve various social rehabilitation milestones in order to earn housing, such as getting sober or finding a job. This social cooperation is then rewarded with temporary housing, such as in shelters, hostels, or sometimes apartments.

Housing first provides immediate access to permanent supportive housing to individuals who are homeless and who have mental health and addiction problems. Researchers in Finland looked at evidence-based results out of New York City and concluded that housing should be thought of as a foundational step to address social issues such as unemployment, or addiction. This means sidestepping the traditional transitional housing and treatment steps and instead focusing on finding people stable, permanent places to live.

Chart 2: The Housing First Model. [Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness]


Housing First in the United States


The Housing First model was actually initially developed in New York City in the 1990s by psychologist Sam Tsemberis. He went on to found the program Pathways to Housing, a program that has provided thousands of people a direct and permanent route out of homelessness. The model was exported to countries like Finland, where it has achieved measurable success, but it also began appearing in other cities across the United States such as Washington D.C.

A decade ago, in 2010 Salt Lake City, Utah launched a Housing First initiative. While SLC became a national sensation for allegedly solving homelessness, a Salt Lake City Tribune article from this year describes the reality as being “much more complicated.” While the Housing First program certainly had a big impact it never achieved quite the same success. So what did a city like Helsinki have the Salt Lake City lacked? In a recent article from the Global Citizen Tsemberis reflects on one potential barrier to the model’s success in certain cities and countries:

“There is so much evidence showing how Housing First works, but it takes political will.”


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