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Today's topic is "How Finland Aims to End Homelessness"

In 1987, there were over 18,000 homeless people in Finland. At the end of 2018, there were fewer than 5,500. In fact, Finland is the only European Union country where homelessness is falling, which many credit to the country's "Housing First" policy, introduced in 2008.

People can become homeless for many reasons, from suddenly losing work or family support to drug or mental health problems. And most policies for helping the homeless require them to solve their personal problems before they can get housing.

But Finland's Housing First policy is based on the idea that having a home makes it easier to solve these problems. So people are given a permanent place to live as soon as they become homeless.

They still have contracts and pay rent, but they may get rent support from the government. They also get help with things like financial planning, applying for other benefits and more.

"Housing First means ending homelessness instead of managing it," said Juha Kaakinen, CEO of Finland's largest housing nonprofit, speaking to The Guardian.

Kaakinen says that giving people permanent homes means they use regular medical services instead of more expensive emergency services. Considering all the societal costs of homelessness, from health care to police and court expenses, he says that each person given a home saves Finland at least 15,000 euros, or about $16,000, per year.

Speaking to CBC Radio, Kaakinen said that the most important change was renovating temporary shelters into permanent housing. The last big shelter in Helsinki had 250 beds, but in 2012 it was renovated into 81 separate apartments with on-site support staff.

Finland's Housing First system also works with local communities to make sure that they welcome a new building for homeless people, while new residents pick up litter and take care of green spaces.

Housing First has been attempted in various cities and towns around the world, but Finland is the first country to do it nationally. Finland aims to completely end homelessness by 2027.

#WorldNews #AudioNews