Preventing the social exclusion of young people with low-threshold events

This article series presents cases of innovations built here in Espoo that strive for a better tomorrow for all.

Once a month low-threshold Ohjaamotalo activation days are held to invite unemployed young people to make so called activation plans with the aim of finding employment together with the city's social services, the Employment Office and other complimentary services. The activation day is easily approachable for young people and the young person's situation is examined holistically, such as employment and benefit issues, substance abuse and mental health challenges or lack of leisure activities. They are offered a wide range of activities and services on spot, instead of having to search for scattered services when already being in a vulnerable life situation.

All participants are called about two weeks after the event to ask how they are doing and follow up on progress. Feedback from participants is excellent, the average feedback score (2023, 99 respondents, scale 1–5) varies between 4.69 and 4.84. In 2023, a total of 9 activation days were organized and 210 activation plans were drawn up. About 100 of these young people had been outside the services for six months. It is an example of how innovative ideas turn into key actions – the Ohjaamotalo activation days won the Mayor’s Innovation Competition in 2020 for its exemplary customer-oriented approach, which integrated a new agile service model to the traditionally rule-bound employment service processes.