Court orders Pohde to reassess disabled man’s housing services

North Ostrobothnia’s regional wellbeing services county, Pohde, must reconsider a 19-year-old man’s application for supported housing after a court found it had not properly assessed his needs, Yle reports. His mother, Jaana Kiiski, says he still has no place in round-the-clock care in their home municipality of Kuusamo.

During filming for the report, Kiiski’s son ran off while doing yard work and then had an epileptic seizure. She pulled him inside on a sled after he collapsed and became almost unconscious. Kiiski, who is his informal caregiver, said she has no other help and is struggling to care for her adult son alone.

The Northern Finland Administrative Court ruled that Pohde had acted contrary to the Disability Services Act by failing to arrange services suited to the young man’s individual needs. It also said Pohde had not explained why housing units in Kuusamo, or services provided at home, could not meet those needs.

Pohde has said Kuusamo does not have a housing unit able to provide the level of service he requires. Kiiski disagrees. She says a private unit for people with intellectual disabilities in the municipality is willing to tailor services for him. He also receives three days of respite care each month at a Pohde unit in Kuusamo.

Pohde had offered him a place elsewhere in North Ostrobothnia, at one point in Oulu, more than 200 kilometres away. Kiiski appealed to the administrative court and welcomed its decision, but fears a process that has lasted nearly two years will now start over.

Pohde’s director of disability services, Marja Salo, said the regional authority cannot provide every level of housing service in every municipality and that the wishes of clients and their relatives cannot always be met. When travel to a housing unit is not possible, she said, contact with relatives is supported through phone calls and video links. Salo was speaking generally and did not comment on Kiiski’s case.

The court ordered Pohde to reimburse legal costs, but not in full. Kiiski’s son still has to pay just over 700 euros for legal assistance.