logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
26m 27s

Women and the fight to end homelessness

Bbc World Service
About this episode

What’s women’s experience of homelessness across Europe? In Finland it's on the decrease, but in Portugal it's rising. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women who are fighting to eradicate homelessness.

Saija Turunen is the head of research at Y‐Foundation, the largest nationwide non-profit landlord in Finland. The organisation promotes social justice by providing affordable rental housing - they currently own over 19000 homes in nearly 60 locations.

Luísa Gomes moved to Portugal as a child from East Timor and was homeless for 15 years. She is the co-founder of SOMOS, an association created by and for women who have experienced or are currently facing homelessness.

Produced by Emily Naylor

(Image: (L) Luísa Gomes, courtesy of Luísa Gomes. (R) Saija Turunen, courtesy of Saija Turunen.)

Up next
Jun 8
The impact of epilepsy
Epilepsy is a brain condition that causes repeated episodes of sudden, brief changes in the brain's electrical activity causing seizures or convulsions. It's thought 50-million people have the condition, which can't be cured. The right treatment can alleviate symptoms but diagnos ... Show More
26m 28s
Jun 1
The challenges for women in palliative care
Confronting the death of a loved one – or the end of our own life – can be frightening and overwhelming. And yet it is something that will happen to all of us. So how can we open up conversations about the way we want to die? Is it possible to avoid pain and suffering? And who ar ... Show More
26m 29s
May 25
Women saving amphibians from extinction
Datshiane Navanayagam talks to Whitley Fund for Nature winners from India and South Africa who are protecting endangered frogs and salamanders.Dr Barkha Subba is leading the first grassroots protection for the Himalayan Salamander in Darjeeling. The scientific adviser at local NG ... Show More
26m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
What We Learned From the Deepest Look at Homelessness in Decades
<p>California has around half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless population. The state’s homelessness crisis has become a talking point for Republicans and a warning sign for Democrats in blue cities and states across the country.</p><p>Last month, the Benioff Homelessness and ... Show More
1h 2m
Aug 2021
Sexism, tribalism and housing
Finding a place to live in Nigeria’s big cities. Finding somewhere to live can be stressful wherever you are in the world. But in Lagos, Africa’s fastest growing city, add in sexism, tribalism and stumping up more than a year’s worth of rent in advance. Are these practices making ... Show More
18m 26s
Jun 2023
Anne Mahlum: Homeless Running Clubs (Pt 1)
At 26 years old, Anne was working through a lot of pain and running was her "cheap therapy". After running by a homeless shelter hundreds of times, one day she had the radical idea of inviting the homeless to run with her. Starting with 9 guys in 1 city, her nonprofit Back on My ... Show More
58m 22s
Mar 2023
S2E12 - Safe Havens for Women and their Children
<p>This week we’re resharing an interview with Sairoz Sekhon, Director of Women’s Transition Housing &amp; Supports Program at BC Housing, and Allison McLauchlan, Executive Director at Kelowna Women’s Shelter. This episode explores what women’s transition housing is, the types of ... Show More
27m 32s
Apr 2022
Nisa Homes | The Phoenix That Rises From The Ashes
This week, we sit down with five amazing individuals from Nisa Homes, a not-for-profit charity that provides a safe haven and support services for women, who are fleeing domestic violence, poverty or seeking asylum. In this beautiful special, they share with us of the story of wh ... Show More
1h 46m
Oct 2023
S3E2 - Shining a Light on Indigenous Understandings of Homelessness
<p>Sara speaks to filmmaker Joseph Kafka and storyteller Patrick Stewart about an Indigenous-led video series titled ‘Where Are All My Relations’. Each story offers a human perspective on the data associated with an overrepresentation of Indigenous people in homeless counts. Home ... Show More
32m 53s