Social and health sector groups are concerned about the government's austerity plans, because they will bite into the groups' funding by about one-third over the next three years.
Last week, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) government decided on a range of measures to cut spending and increase revenue in an effort to reduce debt and the need for more borrowing. The package of austerity measures is worth about three billion euros.
One result of the plans means that by the year 2027, social welfare organisations will lose around 130 million euros out of the 400 million euros in annual grants they currently receive. Some of the cuts were already known before the government announced the budget framework package last week, which revealed more cuts on a tighter timetable.
The planned cuts will clearly reduce grants for preventative mental health, according to Sari Aalto-Matturi, the executive director of Mieli Mental Health Finland.
"Hair-raising" plans
"[The plans] are hair-raising," she said.
Among other things, Mieli offers support to people in crisis, as well as preventative mental health support. Aalto-Matturi said the cuts will be very destructive to the activities of social and health organisations.
"It's especially sad that the cuts will probably not produce savings, but rather increase societal costs," she said, explaining that organisations like Mieli help to prevent problems and effectively reduce the use of public services.
Mieli's crisis help operations are largely based on the assistance from about 1,000 volunteers and around 100 professionals.
Last year, there were approximately 400,000 calls made to Mieli's crisis helpline. At current volunteer levels, about 90,000 of those calls were answered, she explained.
The group also offers in-person crisis assistance, and according to Aalto-Matturi, the need for help does not decrease even if funding does.
Less money, more problems
She said that when people can't find help from her organisation, they seek assistance from public mental health care services, which are already congested.
"It means an increase in difficult problems, more public social services spending and, in many ways, an increase in society's problems in general," Aalto-Matturi said.
In a nod to some organisations, the government's budget framework also includes a proposal to allow people to make tax deductions for donations they make to some types of groups.
The tax deducted donations would only apply to ones to exercise-, sports-, youth- and child-related organisations.
According to Aalto-Matturi, there is no legal classification about what constitutes a youth or children's organisation. For example, Mieli also works to strengthen kids' well-being, she said.
OECD: 11 billion euros per year
"It's pretty wild if a public authority can start dictating which private sector groups should get donations and which ones shouldn't. I think it's frightening if organisations' activities are based on political values," Aalto-Matturi said.
Five years ago, the OECD calculated that Finland spent 11 billion euros on mental health-related problems every year. It was found that most of the costs were not care-related services but social security and labour market costs.
"The right solution would be to sort out prevention and timely treatment efforts. Now we're actually going in the other direction, when Finland's treatment guarantee is also being extended," Aalto-Matturi said.
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