Meet the American idealists inspired by Finland’s model to end homelessness.

It all started when they noticed something odd from a conventional US perspective: a European country had managed to tackle homelessness—even the most difficult cases.

How come? The answer was simple enough: get people into homes, and do a follow-up so they can treat problems like chronic drug addiction and mental illness. It’s been working for years, and it’s not more expensive, on the contrary.

How did they reverse the situation in Finland? First, they stopped asking how to manage homelessness —and started asking how to end it. Their answer was simple, but radical: get people in homes, not shelters.

Part 3 of our series on homelessness takes us from California to Finland, comparing America’s housing crisis with one of the world’s most successful models.

In Helsinki, homelessness has nearly disappeared. The city promises housing to all — not temporary shelter — and we tour one of its largest permanent housing communities to see how this approach works in practice.

Back in Berkeley, we meet our longtime friend and micro-unit developer Patrick Kennedy, who is experimenting with a modern take on the old residence hotels — compact, affordable units designed to bring back a form of housing that once helped city dwellers stay off the streets.

In Phoenix, we visit a rapid-response project using shipping containers arranged in an X-wing shape, capable of being installed in parking lots in just six hours to provide fast, temporary housing for those in need.

Can America learn from Finland’s success — and from its own innovators — to finally make housing, not shelter, the foundation of its response to homelessness?

Watch the 2 previous episodes on the homelessness crisis:

• Trapped in paradise: how we got the homeless situation (part 1)
• (Un)housed in paradise: how the homeless can get off the street (part 2)