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NEA-PROJECTSecuring Housing for
Women
Saija Turunen & Leena Lehtonen Y-Foundation, Finland
• Background from two perspectives
• National program for preventing
homelessness
• NEA project
• Structure
• Aims
• Thoughts and Findings
• Questions
Zero tolerance for women’s
homelessness
• In 2016 increase in the number of homeless
women
• Over 1500 single homeless women (over 400
long term homeless) and over 300 families
• Lack of information on the situation of homeless
women
->Funding application together with a number of
partners (coordinated by Y-Foundation) in 2017
About women on the streets
”I see women’s homelessness somehow as a harsherphenomenon than men’s. Some men still (at least at thebeginning) have a kind of ethos of ”tough survivor”, which is notoften the case with women, who hardly ever are survivors of thestreets.”
”The subculture of homelessness is really hard for women and they have to harden themselves. In this subculture intoxicatedwomen are easily exposed to sexual and other kind of abuse and violence.”
”For some women the spiral of becoming marginalised and dependent of drugs is really fast.”
”There can be pecking orders with the homeless and oftenwomen (of the couple) are not decision makers and don’t have an equal status and therefore are often abused in the streets.”
About stigma
”In our society women have been given a role of a mother and a carer and when being homeless these women are easilystigmatised as bad mothers or bad women. This is why I feel thatfor homeless women the fall and ”letting go” happens veryquickly.”
”Many suffer from shame and quilt that are related to womanhood and motherhood. Many also feel that they look different to the masses and feel ashamed about that too.”
About women’s condition
”Women might find places to stay in return of sexual or house keeping ”favours”. This is why women in low threshold servicesare often both socially and mentally in a very bad condition. Women often depend on violent or otherwise abusive men and often end up in this kind of relationships. In addition to thepsychological burden, violence and maltreatment might hinderreceiving services, in other words violence might result in eviction.”
”Many have been abused since their childhood which then affectstheir self esteem as adults and choices they make. I am sorry to say that this often means that time after time they fall in love with”rogues”.
About working with homeless women
”As a social worker and a woman I often feel that meeting thesewomen is more challenging than meeting homeless men. Femalesocial worker might be harder and more humiliating for some homeless women to face. This is likely to be because of thecultural stigma in our society of ”a bad woman/mother” and theshame that comes with it. Of the violent clients (not many, butstill) have been mostly women. On the other had, I have metmany women who wish to see a female social worker who theyfeel will understand their situation better.”
About services and support
”Women should have their own low threshold services. On theother hand, unfortunately, we might face some problems of co-habiting of women living together. Sharing space seems to bechallenging for women than for men.”
”Women don’t have as many services as men as the number of homeless men is bigger. This might results in inpractical housing. For example of crisis housing, some women might prefer to stay in abusive housing options rather than go to ”official”housing thatthey see as safe.”
”Abused women should have a place where they feel safe and welcome. They need help to deal with the feeling of shame, motherhood and womanhood. Appearance issues might feelsecondary but they play a big role for example when meetingtheir children.”
”I might be wrong but somehow I feel that permanent contactwith workers are more meaningful for women than for men.”
Action Plan for Preventing Homelessness in Finland 2016–2019 (AUNE)
• The goal is to link the work on homelessness more extensively to the whole of the work on preventing social exclusion based on the Housing First principle.
• Aim is to continue to reduce homelessness. The objective will be achieved by:
Strengthening the prevention of homelessnessPreventing the recurrence of homelessness
PROJECT COORDINATION:
Y-FOUNDATIONSUBPROJECTS:
No Fixed Abode, Helsinki Deaconess
Institute, The Federation of Mother and
Child Homes and Shelters, Turku and
Helsinki Mother and Child Home
Associations, EJY Association, Blue Ribbon
Foundation, A-Clinic Foundation
Multidisciplinary co-creation individual work, groups, communities,
meeting places
Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa,
Turku, Tampere
city-specific plans
REFORMING
PROFESSONIALISM (new work
methods, women specific
work orientation)
INCREASING
SCATTERED HOUSING
SOLUTIONS
RAISING
AWARENESS OF
PHENOMENON
(producing
information and
evaluation of
effects)
STRENGTHENING EXPERTISE
OF EXPERIENCE
MAIN GOAL: ENDING WOMEN´S
HOMELESSNESS BY SECURING THEIR PATHS TO
HOUSING
NEA PROJECT
Securing Housing for Women
AIMS
SECURING
LIVING IN OWN
HOME
Finnish Foundation for Supporting
Ex-offenders,
Monika – Multicultural Women´s
Association, other organisations
The Federation of Mother
and Child Homes and
Shelters: Influencing,
producing information,
supporting sub associations,
training
SUB PROJECTS
No Fixed Abode:
meeting point, group
work, outreach work,
experience expertise
A-Clinic/Völjy: meeting
place for active iv drug
users,
harm reduction,
outreach work
Helsinki Deaconess
Institute: community
living, work methods,
evaluation of effects
Helsinki Mother and
Child Home
Association: families
with addiction issues,
parenthood
Turku Mother and Child
Home Association: families
with small children and
victims of domestic
violence
Blue Ribbon
Foundation: outreach
work, pop up courses on
housing
EJY: preventive
work, combining
housing, work and
financial issues
Finnish Foundation for
Supporting Ex-
offenders: women prisoners
Monika –Multicultural
Women´s Association: multiculturalism,
victims of domestic
violence
The Y-Foundation
coordinating
CITIES: Helsinki, Espoo,
Vantaa (capital area),
Tampere and Turku
Thoughts and findings
• Different frameworks: housing, substance
abuse work ja family work
• Defining together women spesific work and
how to secure housing. • Co-creation
• Focusing on how instead of what
• Support person, relationship based on trust.
• Sensitivity, trauma oriented work, dialogue
pedagogy and work with domestic violence.
• Children taken into care and child protection
services
• Listening what women want
Thoughts and findings
• Trust first in Housing First?
• Flexible support
• Scattered housing or housing unit or
something else?
• Safety
Questions
• How can we prevent women’s
homelessness? Ideas for intervention and
support - who, when and where?
• Scattered housing, housing unit or
something else?
• How to secure (and support) women’s
safety in housing?
