Five per cent of Helsinki area residents have experienced hunger

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Five per cent of residents of the greater Helsinki area say that they have had to be without food for a day or more because of a lack of money.
      This comes out in a study on well-being in the Helsinki region, which the cities have drawn up together with SOCCA, the Centre of Expertise on Social Welfare in Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
     The reason given for the shortage of money was usually too low an income in proportion to unavoidable expenses.
     
The prevalence of occasional hunger has been about equal in all four cities of the region - Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen, says researcher Saija Turunen.
     The shortage of money leads residents to spend less clothing and shoes, as well as entertainment. Four per cent of respondents have refrained from buying medicines at some time, and six per cent have compromised on health care.
     Respondents rarely skimp on children’s hobbies, clothing, or shoes, even in a tight economic circumstances.
     Five per cent of residents of all four cities would amount to more than 50,000 people.
     
According to researcher Pasi Moisio of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), a survey conducted by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) covering the whole country, shows that one per cent of respondents have admitted to having experienced hunger.
     “Is the Helsinki region a different kind of area, or have the different options for answers raised the number?” Moisio ponders.
     For instance, in Espoo, two other studies indicate that four per cent of respondents have experienced hunger, says Eeva Honkanummi, chairwoman of the steering group of the new study on welfare.
     “This means that we have poor amongst us, and that the basic security system is not optimal.”
      Pasi Moisio also sees room for improvement. He says that waiting for various decisions on benefits could lead to a situation in which money really is not available for food.
     
The survey was conducted last summer, before the onset of the global economic crisis, so the percentages are likely to be worse now.
      According to the study, another cause for concern is that such surveys often do not reach those who are in the worst position of all.
      “The homeless have no addresses, and they are not reached by these kinds of questionnaires. We know from experience that the response rate for those in the worst social situations are lower”, Moisio says.
     
Of the 4,000 residents of the Helsinki area who responded to the questionnaire, nearly half said that they have trouble making ends meet, and are not able to put money into savings.
     Kauniainen is the exception; nearly a third of households in Kauniainen said that their net income exceeds EUR 5,000 a month. In the other cities, only one in ten respondents reported such a high income level.
     Six per cent of all respondents lived in a household with a net income of less than EUR 500 a month. They are mainly students or unemployed.
     Respondents were not especially optimistic about future prospects, even though the survey was taken before the economic downturn.
     The most important factors in well-being were seen to be family, human relations, and the enjoyment of nature.
     “These are resources that help people through difficult times”, Honkanummi notes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Many Finnish localities run out of EU food bags quickly (2.4.2009)
  Higher food prices bring longer breadlines (22.4.2008)

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