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Youth homelessness increasing in Helsinki
Jun
The number of young homeless people sleeping on the streets of Helsinki is on the rise, according to the NGO No Fixed Abode – or Vailla vakinaista asuntoa (VVA) in Finnish.
“The number of disadvantaged people, and the proportion of people in their thirties, sleeping on the streets is clearly higher than in previous years,” VVA Head of Services Jussi Lehtonen told Yle, adding he estimated that between 40 and 80 people slept in public toilets in Helsinki’s city centre during the month of April.
More than half of that number were under 35 years old, Lehtonen said.
The NGO estimates that there may be as many as a couple of hundred young people sleeping rough in the city on any given night.
“It is difficult to estimate the exact number, but we are already talking about hundreds and not anymore about dozens,” Lehtonen said.
Young people living on the street have to find a place to sleep every night. Some of them will seek emergency accommodation, but for a large number, any sheltered place will do.
“Sometimes a young person ends up in a public toilet, a stairwell, or if luck goes their way, they might get to a friend’s couch,” Lehtonen added.