Housing unit in Lappeenranta offers homes to substance users without sobriety demands

A new supported housing unit in Lappeenranta, Saimaanraitti, provides homes to people recovering from substance abuse and mental health issues without requiring them to be sober, reports Yle.

The unit, opened in December 2025, currently houses 13 residents, including Niina, 39, who moved in this January after two and a half years without a permanent home. She had previously stayed with friends, sometimes being asked to leave, and was once evicted for unpaid rent.

Saimaanraitti operates under the “Housing First” principle, aiming to give hard-to-house individuals a stable home to help them rebuild their lives. Residents receive support for daily living, and the unit allows substance use, a model that service manager Vesa Piikki of the South Karelia well-being region says likely prevents homelessness, emergency visits, and police interventions.

The demand exceeds capacity. The unit has 16 rental apartments and two temporary rooms, but Piikki notes a second similar facility would easily fill up. Not all regions offer such services—Etelä-Pohjanmaa lacks it entirely, citing insufficient need, while others rely on subleasing private or municipal apartments.

In Kotka, where homelessness more than doubled last year, the city aims to eliminate it by 2027 but currently lacks substance-permissive supported housing, partly due to funding constraints.