The most common mental image of a homeless person tends to be a middle-aged man. However, their prevalence among the homeless has fallen and other groups are expanding.
"A good third are starting to be under the age of 25, and there are women, too. There is a whole new crowd without homes. Middle-age men are a dwindling group right now, even though they still make up about half of all the homeless," says Sanna Tiivola, Executive Manager Sanna Tiivola of the homeless organisation Vailla vakinaista asuntoa (Vva).
According to Tiivola, people who become homeless have usually gone through some life crisis such as losing employment and income, the death of a spouse, or a divorce.
"Usually it's the husband who packs a bag and leaves and ends up homeless," Tiivola explains.
One misconception that Sanna Tiivola is quick to correct is that alcohol plays a significant role in becoming homeless.
"It's often thought that someone is an alcoholic and becomes homeless. But often it is the other way around. First you are homeless and then you become an alcoholic."
Accommodations are available on the open market, but that requires money. When unemployed, income collapses, credit drys up and debts pile up. Landlords don't look kindly upon anyone who is broke.
"Often people don't want to take the risk of damage to a flat, or unpaid rent. They want rent paid regularly and assurances that there will be no damage," Tiivola continues.
Down by half
Special programmes implemented by the state, local governments and organizations to help the homeless have cut their numbers down by more than half, from over 18,000 at the end of the 1980s to around 8,000 today.
For example, under two programmes in 2007-2015, the state funded both investments and the salaries of personnel dealing with the issue of homelessness. During the same period, there was a shift away from shelters and temporary accommodations towards regular housing. As a result, many got permanent homes.
This week, the Ministry of the Environment announced a serious of new measures as part of a three-year programme by the present government that focuses on prevention. Among these is the start-up of a pilot for rent security insurance to act as credit for people who are unable on their own to provide security payments on flats to landlords.
