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Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

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Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#21

Worth pointing out that Finland is one of the most ethnically homogeneous societies in Europe - only ~10% of the population is of foreign origin and background [1]. So, like Japan, it's easier to have a high-trust society if you eschew immigration. Edit: Just to be clear, I'm very pro-immigration. I just think that studying rich homogeneous societies doesn't result in many useful takeaways for countries like the USA.…

No idea how it's relevant. For example in USA, I bet the overwhelming majority of homeless are citizens born in USA, not immigrants. In my central European country with high ethnic homogenity the unhoused are also stemming from majority population. There is a Roma minority who are often struggling with poverty but are rarely unhoused.

> in USA, I bet the overwhelming majority of homeless are citizens born in USA, not immigrants

Correct.

"There was no significant difference in rates of lifetime adult homelessness between foreign-born adults and native-born adults (1.0% vs 1.7%). Foreign-born participants were less likely to have various mental and substance-use disorders, less likely to receive welfare, and less likely to have any lifetime incarceration." ("The foreign-born population was 46.2 million (13.9% of the total population)" in 2022 [2].)

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30739834/

[2] https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/foreign-...

Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#22
post #3

> In the United Kingdom, for instance, people who had been living on the streets or in shelters were housed in individual accommodations in a matter of days. So it was always possible. We just didn’t care to do so.

it was striking to see Hong Kong in the British-law phase.. there used to be social layers including homeless and "boat people" but the British changed that .. under the British law, every single person and every single place to sleep was counted, numbered, licensed and taxed.

Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#25

The US chooses not to end homelessness. We have the highest GDP in the world. We could end it if we wanted to. I was in Japan recently. A choice was made there as well.

The US could end homelessness but would need to stop immigration and change the constitution which could force people in shelter. Not sure it's the outcome we all want.

Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#26

Worth pointing out that Finland is one of the most ethnically homogeneous societies in Europe - only ~10% of the population is of foreign origin and background [1]. So, like Japan, it's easier to have a high-trust society if you eschew immigration. Edit: Just to be clear, I'm very pro-immigration. I just think that studying rich homogeneous societies doesn't result in many useful takeaways for countries like the USA.…

> it's easier to have a high-trust society if you eschew immigration.

citation needed

Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#27
post #3

> In the United Kingdom, for instance, people who had been living on the streets or in shelters were housed in individual accommodations in a matter of days. So it was always possible. We just didn’t care to do so.

When they refuse to go inside do you jail them? Some cities with big hearts have been through this before.

Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#28
> a “Housing First” approach, which provides people experiencing homelessness with immediate, independent, permanent housing

Could timing have something to do with it? Maybe if the cycle is broken right at the start, when one becomes homeless, it prevents some of the mental health issues and addiction issues that come from living without support for too long. People here in NA often have lived on the streets for years or decades. That's so much trauma, many say it's impossible to heal at that point.

Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#29

Worth pointing out that Finland is one of the most ethnically homogeneous societies in Europe - only ~10% of the population is of foreign origin and background [1]. So, like Japan, it's easier to have a high-trust society if you eschew immigration. Edit: Just to be clear, I'm very pro-immigration. I just think that studying rich homogeneous societies doesn't result in many useful takeaways for countries like the USA.…

> it's easier to have a high-trust society if you eschew immigration. citation needed

You need a citation for you to understand people with similar customs/religious believes, similar dna have a higher trust society than a cities of unknown elements?

Re: Finland's zero homeless strategy (2021)

#30
post #25

The US chooses not to end homelessness. We have the highest GDP in the world. We could end it if we wanted to. I was in Japan recently. A choice was made there as well.

The US could end homelessness but would need to stop immigration and change the constitution which could force people in shelter. Not sure it's the outcome we all want.

That's your assumption. Instead, mine is that it would require some kind of wealth transfer to pay for the social services.
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