Formerly homeless photographer documents people sleeping in Jyväskylä car parks

A photographer who once experienced homelessness has documented people sleeping in car parks in Jyväskylä for an exhibition at the city’s main library, Yle reports. Mika Luomansivu’s photographs are on display until 29 October.

Since August, Luomansivu has visited parking garages with people who spend their nights there as guides. The cold, hunger and loss of dignity they described were familiar to him: he was homeless himself several years ago.

“Life looked different then. There were more buildings awaiting demolition and worksite barracks where you could sleep if you did odd jobs on construction sites,” he said. He believes the situation is now even more desperate, and that homelessness is less often a person’s own choice. He also encounters young people and women on the streets more often.

“People are in a terribly bad state. That shocked me too,” Luomansivu said.

Homelessness has increased in Finland for two consecutive years after falling for more than a decade. A homelessness review published early this year by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland found that numbers rose in almost all major cities and many medium-sized ones. In Jyväskylä, homelessness has risen continuously since 2022. The city recorded 154 homeless people last year: 72 were long-term homeless, 27 were women, 27 were young people and 13 were immigrants.

Winter will bring changes to services for homeless people in Jyväskylä. The emergency accommodation service on Kankitie is moving to a sobering-up station, and some residents of supported housing on Kankitie will have to leave their homes. Workers at Katulähetys, a local organisation, expect the changes to increase homelessness, although the wellbeing services county has promised to help people find new housing.

Nana Laakkio, a project worker with the Koti kaikille initiative, said people experiencing homelessness were worried about the changes and valued services that were familiar and reliable. Not everyone has a phone, and news coverage does not reach everyone. Laakkio said outreach services were urgently needed because services can be fragmented and people may have to travel long distances without the money or energy to do so. At the same time, funding for organisations has fallen.

The exhibition, titled “Who sees, who hears”, also includes accounts from people experiencing homelessness. One describes homelessness as “a constant state of panic” over belongings, the risk of being robbed or assaulted, and where to sleep. Another says: “There is no human dignity when you are homeless.” The exhibition was created with the Koti kaikille initiative, Kris Keski-Suomi, a peer support organisation for people with substance use and criminal backgrounds, and the Sovatek Foundation.

Laakkio and Luomansivu hope the photographs will prompt visitors to consider how they can help someone in need. Laakkio said support should begin with kindness and understanding, rather than telling someone with few resources simply to go and do something. Luomansivu said he most needed someone beside him who cared, and urged people to visit the parking garages and imagine spending the night there.