In the framework of our Housing for Independent Living, HS4IL project meetings hosted by meetings hosted by the Lieve Foundation, Housing Europe and its partners visited a “housing group” project located inside a social housing building in Helsinki’s Kalasatama district. The initiative is made possible through close cooperation between the City of Helsinki, which offers a spectrum of supported, service, and short-term housing options for people with disabilities, and the municipal housing company Heka, a member of KOVA, the association of non-profit rental housing companies and foundations.
The building comprises 101 apartments, 20 of which are service housing units for people with developmental disabilities. Round-the-clock support is available on site, with staff assisting residents according to their individual needs. Both the building and all apartments are fully accessible. Each resident has their own home, complemented by shared facilities, including saunas and a club room on the top floor, as well as a laundry room with drying spaces, multiple storage areas, and workspaces dedicated to the service housing operations.
Across Finland, the trend is moving steadily toward independent living for people with disabilities in high-quality, mixed buildings. Digital tools, ranging from mobile phones to smart watches, are now commonplace, often combined with remote access to healthcare services.
However, there are also challenges. For instance, there is typically not enough personal assistants to meet the demands for everyone in need. Furthermore, there is a specific grant available for constructing special-needs groups housing, covering between 15 to 50 percent of the construction costs, but the annual development of such grants for special needs group show a significant decrease in recent years.
Ongoing research within the HS4IL project highlights that the most successful models blend digital innovation with strong community and support networks. Crucially, these approaches only deliver their full impact when embedded in an affordable and inclusive housing system.