Gothenburg acute homelessness down 60% under Housing First

Gothenburg's acute homelessness has fallen by about 60 percent over the past decade after the Swedish city adopted the Housing First model, according to the non-profit running the programme.

The municipality counted about 3,000 homeless people in 2026 in Sweden's second-largest city, including 411 people classified as acute homeless, meaning they were living on the street or in shelters.

Borko Grujic, head of operations at Goteborgs Stadsmission, said the number of acute homeless people had fallen by about 60 percent over 10 years, while overall homelessness had dropped by just under 40 percent. National homelessness fell by about nine percent between 2017 and the last national review in 2023.

Housing First gives people permanent housing before requiring other steps such as addiction treatment or sobriety. Grujic said the home is meant to be a secure base from which people can work on other problems, including mental health issues and substance abuse.

Viking Weiner, 56, said the approach helped him after years on the streets and struggles with addiction. He said life before the apartment was chaotic because his address kept changing between temporary housing and the street.

Those housed through the Gothenburg programme are linked with counsellors. Grujic said about 80 to 90 percent of people given housing end up staying in their flats, and many take over their leases after about two years.

Sweden adopted a long-term homelessness strategy in 2022 that encouraged municipalities to use Housing First. The National Board of Health and Welfare said 126 of the country's 290 municipalities applied for grants to implement the model.

Gothenburg began its programme 14 years ago. Grujic said the city benefited from political support and a large stock of public housing apartments, which made it easier to find places to rent.