Walking the Tenderloin with Finland Homeless Expert and National Alliance to End Homelessness

Описание: Last summer, we took a trip to Helsinki to catch up with Juha Kahila, who heads up International Affairs at Y-Säätiö. Our mission? To find out how Finland has been successfully combating homelessness for 12 straight years. Check out our documentary for the full scoop:    • Finland Solved Homelessness: Here's How (S...  

While wandering the streets of Helsinki, something peculiar caught our eye – or rather, didn't. There wasn't a single person sleeping rough. It was a surreal moment for us, considering we've visited over 300 cities and witnessed street homelessness everywhere except in Helsinki. It turns out that Finland's strategy revolves around investing in affordable housing and rolling out the Housing First model on a large scale.

Juha and our CEO, Mark Horvath, were invited to share Finland's success and discuss our documentary at the San Francisco National Alliance to End Homelessness conference. But before that, we thought it'd be a good idea to reconnect with Juha and Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), by hitting the streets of the Tenderloin and handing out hand socks to homeless people.

Walking through the Tenderloin was a stark reminder of the harsh reality of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. San Francisco's efforts to address these issues have fallen short, partly due to a lack of scalable housing solutions and an ever-worsening affordable housing crisis.

Some might attribute the homelessness crisis to addiction, but places like West Virginia, which has the highest per capita drug use of any state in the country, don't see the same level of homelessness because they have more affordable housing options.

One of the most impactful moments in our video is when we highlight San Francisco's homelessness crisis and point to Juha, acknowledging that we understand the problem and have viable solutions. The catch? We've lack the political will to implement them.

It's worth noting that Finland's approach to counting homelessness includes families staying doubled up or staying with relatives. In the U.S., there's a lack of consensus on what constitutes homelessness, which hampers our ability to address the issue effectively.

Walking alongside Juha in the Tenderloin underscored the importance of investing in affordable housing and scaling up Housing First initiatives to combat homelessness, even in the most challenging urban environments.

Hanes did not sponsor this video, but we want to extend a special thanks to Hanes for providing socks https://hanesforgood.com/homeless-sup...

Finland Solved Homelessness: Here's How (Spoiler: It's More Than Housing First)    • Finland Solved Homelessness: Here's How (S...  

From a Tent to a Home: No Longer Homeless    • From a Tent to a Home: No Longer Homeless   via
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About Invisible People

There is a direct correlation between what the general public perceives about homelessness and how it affects policy change. Most people blame homelessness on the person experiencing it instead of the increasing shortage of affordable housing, lack of employment, childhood trauma, lack of a living wage, or the countless reasons that put a person at risk. This lack of understanding creates a dangerous cycle of misperception that leads to the inability to effectively address the root causes of homelessness.

We imagine a world where everyone has a place to call home. Each day, we work to fight homelessness by giving it a face while educating individuals about the systemic issues that contribute to its existence. Through storytelling, education, news, and activism, we are changing the narrative on homelessness.

Invisible People is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about homelessness through innovative storytelling, news, and advocacy. Since our launch in 2008, Invisible People has become a pioneer and trusted resource for inspiring action and raising awareness in support of advocacy, policy change and thoughtful dialogue around poverty in North America and the United Kingdom.