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The Data Collection on Homelessness in Finland National meeting for Finland 27 February 2009

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

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The Data Collection on Homelessness in Finland National meeting for Finland 27 February 2009

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  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 • ARA’s 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. 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 > easier to start programmes and get financial support if you have ’statistics’ to base on

  8. 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

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