At a glance:

The challenge: Chronic homelessness 

The country that can help: Finland

Summary: Homelessness continues to rise in many Canadian communities, straining shelters, emergency services, and local budgets.

Solution: Finland’s Housing First model provides people with permanent housing immediately, without preconditions, and then delivers mental health, addiction, and employment supports. It is the only EU country where homelessness has steadily declined for more than a decade.

Homelessness solved in Finland

Around the world, many countries struggle with homelessness, but Finland stands out for achieving something few others have managed: a sustained, long-term decline. Over more than a decade, Finland has reduced chronic homelessness by more than 60 per cent and virtually eliminated long-term street homelessness. Its approach, called Housing First, offers a lesson Canada could adopt more fully.

Housing First reverses the traditional sequence of care. Instead of requiring people to get sober, complete treatment, or secure employment before receiving help, Finland provides permanent housing immediately, with no conditions attached. Once housed, individuals receive wraparound supports — mental health care, addiction counselling, employment assistance, and regular contact with social workers. A stable home becomes the starting point for recovery, not the reward for it.

Finland’s success comes from treating this as a national strategy rather than a pilot project. The country converted shelters into long-term housing units, built new supportive apartments, and ensured municipalities got predictable funding. Studies there show it is cheaper to provide housing and supports than to rely on emergency shelters, policing, and hospital care.

Canada has experimented with Housing First models. Medicine Hat briefly eliminated chronic homelessness, but now efforts remain uneven and often underfunded. Finland’s experience shows what happens when the model is applied consistently, with clear targets and integrated mental health and addiction services.

Kawartha Lakes is already doing what Finland does — but Finland does it everywhere, at scale, and with the political will to fund it. Kawartha Lakes is at the mercy of the provincial and federal governments, which have most of the taxing power. Time for those higher levels of government to step and help solve this issue.