At the Canada West Forum website, you’ll find a video contrasting two very different responses to homelessness. It shows formerly unhoused people in Finland now living securely and comfortably in permanent homes — a testament to that country’s commitment to long-term solutions.
The video also examines American efforts to provide compact, temporary shelters — an approach that may offer short-term relief but is far less effective for people facing chronic housing instability.
The Finnish model is explained by Juha Kahila, who will be a featured participant in the upcoming online Canada West Forum event, Housing: The Affordability Challenge.
Mr. Kahila noted:
Finland has been awarded happiest country in the world eight years in a row now. I think it comes to this basic thing: that we take care of each other, and that we don’t demand too much. When we have a home and health, when we can can buy groceries from the store, family or boat, We are quite happy to be honest. Yeah, this is why we are there.
The New York Times published an article titled: The Finnish Secret to Happiness? Knowing When You Have Enough. Writer Penelope Colston quoted Professor Arto O. Salonen of the University of Eastern Finland:
When you know what is enough, you are happy.
The article mentions:
The high quality of life in Finland is deeply rooted in the nation’s welfare system, Mr. Kiiski, 47, who lives in Turku, said. “It makes people feel safe and secure, to not be left out of society.”
…Public funding for education and the arts, including individual artist grants, gives people like his wife, Hertta, a mixed-media artist, the freedom to pursue their creative passions…
The conventional wisdom is that it’s easier to be happy in a country like Finland where the government ensures a secure foundation on which to build a fulfilling life and a promising future…
Many of our subjects cited the abundance of nature as crucial to Finnish happiness: Nearly 75 percent of Finland is covered by forest, and all of it is open to everyone thanks to a law known as “jokamiehen oikeudet,” or “everyman’s right,” that entitles people to roam freely throughout any natural areas, on public or privately owned land…
Maybe it isn’t that Finns are so much happier than everyone else. Maybe it’s that their expectations for contentment are more reasonable, and if they aren’t met, in the spirit of sisu, they persevere.
“We don’t whine,” Ms. Eerikainen said. “We just do.”
The Finnish language is full of sayings and wisdom. Here are some of them:
| In Finnish | English Equivalent |
| Aamu on iltaa viisaampi. | The morning is wiser than the evening. |
| Ei kysyvä tieltä eksy. | Who asks for the road doesn’t get lost. |
| Työ tekijäänsä neuvoo. | Work teaches the worker. |
| Rohkea rokan syö. | The brave eats the soup. |
| Hätä keinon keksii. | Emergency finds the way. |
| Niin metsä vastaa, kuin sinne huudetaan. | The forest answers in the same way one shouts at it. |
| Mikä laulaen tulee, se viheltäen menee. | Easy come, easy go. |
| Joka vanhoja muistelee, sitä tikulla silmään. | A poke in the eye for the one, who dwells on the past. |
| Pata kattilaa soimaa, musta kylki kummallakin. | The pot blames the kettle, yet both have a black side. |
| Konstit on monet, sano mummo kun kissalla pöytää pyyhki. | There are more than one ways to skin a cat. |
| Tyvestä puuhun noustaan. | Learn to walk before you can run. |
| Ei ole koiraa karvoihin katsominen. | Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
| Hätä ei lue lakia. | Desperate times call for desperate actions. |
| Kell’ onni on se onnen kätkeköön. | A warning to not boast about possessions and drawing attention to inequality. |
| Ei se pelaa, joka pelkää. | No guts, no glory. |
| Hädässä ystävä tunnetaan. | A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| Ei nimi miestä pahenna, jos ei mies nimeä. | A name doesn’t make a man worse if the man doesn’t make the name worse. |
| Päivä on pulkassa. | The day is in the tally stick. |
| Rahalla saa ja hevosella pääsee. | Money makes the world go around. |
| Oppia ikä kaikki. | All the years are full of learning. |
| Eteenpäin sanoi mummo lumessa. | Keep going through difficulties with determination. |
| Vakka kantensa valitsee. | Birds of a feather flock together. |
| Tyhjästä on paha nyhjästä. | You can’t grab something from nothing. |
| Ei kukaan ole seppä syntyessään. | You can only master something through learning and experience. It’s okay to make mistakes as you learn. |
| Vahinko ei tule kello kaulassa. | You won’t get a warning beforehand when bad things happen. |
| Ei vara venettä kaada. | Better safe than sorry. |
| Älä nuolaise ennenkuin tipahtaa. | Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. |
| Jokainen on oman onnensa seppä. | Good or bad, everyone is the smith of their own fortune. |
| Ei auta itku markkinoilla. | It’s no use crying over spilled milk. |
| Luja tahto vie läpi harmaan kiven. | Where there’s a will, there’s a way. |
| Kaksi kärpästä yhdellä iskulla. | Two flies with one hit. |
| SOURCE: Her Finland |
The New York website adds the following advice on being happy. It notes that happiness can predict health and longevity, but it doesn’t just happen.
- Want to feel happier? One proven strategy is to strengthen what psychologists call your reward sensitivity.
- Small changes in your behavior and surroundings can set you on course for happiness. Here’s how.
- Our seven-day Happiness Challenge will help you focus on a crucial element of living a good life — your relationships.
- Finland has been ranked the happiest country on earth for six consecutive years. What’s the secret? The answer is complicated.
- Cultivating a sense of wonder can be a salve for a turbulent mind. Here is how to make it part of your everyday life.
- It can seem impossible to be optimistic about the future. But these questions will help you understand what all optimists have in common.
Categories: Housing, Human Rights
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