Homeless Migrant in Helsinki

In 2013, there were approximately 7,100 homeless people in Finland, of whom were almost 2000 homeless immigrants. More that 60 percent of the homeless families in Finland were born in another country.
(ARA report 2014)

Problematic is that Finland blocks the access to welfare and social housing systems for the migrant populations. This creates a context in which migrant homelessness is effectively not addressed by homelessness services. Migrants who cannot establish normal residence face repatriation if their presence is detected.

The rare services homeless EU are provided and supported from municipalities, local charities and faith based organisations such as Hirundo Day Center in Helsinki.

Therefor the services are open to migrant populations experiencing homelessness, including EU citizens, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants regardless to their origin. However, there are no housing alternatives for EU-migrants. In Helsinki are no shelters or other acute housing for EU-migrants.

Hirundo Day centre can not provide any beds, so visitors have to find other solutions like sleeping in tents or under bridges. The desperation and the resignation is among the visitors caused by the extreme poverty that pushes people from Eastern Europe to other countries.
(Pleace, Culhane, Granfelt and Knutgärd 77-78: 2015)

Mostly Roma migrants who use the day centre and other cities in Southern Finland, face harsh sleeping conditions. The majority of them sleep outdoors in tents, in abandoned buildings or industrial and recycling containers. The rough sleeping condition affect their access to everyday basic needs such as cooking, washing, or storing once belongings, as well as expose the migrants to insecurities and fears of violence during the nights. As the sleeping in public unauthorized places is restricted in Helsinki for example, the people risk evictions by police officers.
(Puurunen, Enache, Saarinen 2016)

Identity and Dignity of Homeless

Being homeless creates identity problems for people. Homeless have to construct and maintain an identity that supports a sense of worth and dignity. Identity can be separated into three types: social identity, personal identity and self-concept.

Social identity is given by others based on the individuals appearance or behaviour in a situation. Personal identity instead is the image one has of oneself during interaction. The identities that homeless people construct and maintain change with times, depending how long they have been living on the streets and how they experience the live there. The longer one is spending time on the street, the more one starts embracing the homeless identity.
(Parker 2012: 21-22)

The loss of a home makes it difficult to maintain the dignity for homeless people. Social stigma, degrading and dehumanizing conditions compromises their dignity. The ability to be seen and see one selves as worthwhile person is undermined or destroyed from homelessness. Nowadays one knows that self-worth is not a secondary importance. It coexists in the survival needs. However, this essential dignity of human beings is being threating by homelessness.
(Seltser, Miller 1993: 193)

In a general context, dignity is defined as self-worth or inner-worth. In order to achieve dignity one has to recognize the worth as a human being independent from the status or role in society. Inner worth is a fundamental aspect of humanity. Therefore, dignity is not something we have, it is a part of who we are. Moreover, dignity depends not only on our self-image. As well how is one viewed and treated by others. If there is a lack of either type of validation (internal or external) or both it leads to doubts about one’s inner self-worth. The validation or invalidation of dignity is influenced by the positive or negative experiences homeless make.
(Miller, Keys 2001: 332-333)

Feelings like worthlessness, passivity, depression is led from the invalidation of dignity. Events that lead to the invalidation of dignity can be: impersonal treatment; facing ignoring or avoiding behaviour; having little privacy; attending or behaving certainly in order to get services (e.g. church visit); waiting a long time to get a service.
(Seltser, Millers 1993: 94)

On the other hand homeless people feel a sense of self-worth when they are being treated with dignity. This respect is validated and sustained through receiving care, being treated as individuals, and receiving personalized service from others. Individuals are more motivated to become self-sufficient, exit homelessness and contribute to others if they feel good about themselves.
(Miller, Keys 2001: 334)

Due to their daily experience of negative attention, being ignored or avoided by those who are domiciled they feel doubts about their self-worth.
(Snow, Anderson1993: 214).

In order to exit the homeless situation there are five themes which are encouraging individuals:

- supportive relationships
- enhanced self-esteem
- accepted personal responsibility
- accomplished mainstream lifestyle goals
- changed perceptions that street life was acceptable

Being treated with dignity by others is motivation to improve oneself, become self-sufficient, and exit homelessness.
(Miller, Keys 2001: 334)