From Sweden to Aotearoa: Exchanging Insights into Housing First and IPS

The Wise Group has been hosting a special guest from Sweden: Kristina Carlsson Stylianides, a doctoral student at Lund University’s School of Social Work. Her academic interests focus on social vulnerability and inequality. As part of her research, Kristina is investigating Housing First (HF) and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) in various municipalities in Sweden. These are evidence-based practices used by Wise Group entities LinkPeople, The People’s Project (TPP), Work Counts, and Workwise.

As well as visiting Wise Group entities in Kirikiriroa, Kristina gave a seminar at Harakeke House, Manukau, called “Implementing IPS and Housing First in Sweden: What We Learnt.” She talked about barriers that create inequity there, and about the concept of de-implementation; removing existing or outdated ways of working that undermine the introduction of new approaches.

In one example, she described how local-government social workers assessed prospective tenants using landlords’ criteria for “suitability.” So, while staff supported some people experiencing homelessness into housing, they were excluding those who didn’t fit landlords’ criteria. These were often the most vulnerable people. In contrast, Wise Group’s HF organisations have no housing readiness conditions.

Kristina aims to develop theoretical tools and practical insights to transform approaches to social and mental health work. On her trip to Aotearoa, Kristina wanted to learn how IPS and HF are applied here. She said she was most impressed at the person-centred approach followed by services in Aotearoa, compared to a more rigid system in Sweden with assessments that can objectify people.

Following the presentation, Warren Elwin, Chief Executive of Work Counts thanked Kristina, saying “Today’s talk has given impetus for us to be braver and stronger about the importance of research, and talking about the evidence with people who commission services and who structure policy as we move forward”.

Kristina also joined The People’s Project for Matariki as kaimahi farewelled tāngata whai ora who passed away in the last 12 months. She was moved by the experience, saying she could not think of a comparable process anywhere in the world that allowed Housing First case managers to have such meaningful closure in their work. She also appreciated how Māori culture is woven into TPP’s mahi.

TPP’s Joint General Manager, Carole McMinn, said there was much value in sharing experiences between our two countries, and that Kristina was genuinely impressed by TPP’s approach to Housing First and the support shown to tāngata whai ora. Kristina told Carole she’d be rewriting her thesis based on her experience here and is already thinking about future collaborations.