Green Care for Mind and Body

Read more about how nature helps you heal

The International Federation of the Blue Cross works towards health development by aiding people who struggle with problems related to homelessness or substance abuse. The Green Care programme, adopted by some member organizations, helps people rehabilitate through a connection with nature.

Finland’s national member organization, Blue Ribbon, is strongly involved with homelessness, aiding people in different parts of the country by providing them with shelter, food and assistance with different services to improve their quality of life. Blue Ribbon’s day center Illusia has 80-120 visitors daily. The day center offers visitors breakfast, showers, washing machines, storage and help, as well as a sense of community, and even activities.

Housing first

Illusia Day Center aims to make the dreams of their customers come true. However, most of the time these dreams are what most people would consider rather small. They range from simply having a roof over their heads to being able to have a warm meal during the day.

In order to make these dreams come true, Illusia serves a nice warm bowl of porridge to anyone walking through the door every day - free of charge, no questions asked. The staff at the day center also offer advice and assistance in housing related issues. Fittingly, their motto is ‘housing first’. This means that the goal is to first secure a place to live for everyone, thus taking care of their basic needs, before focusing on any other problems.

According to Saija Pellikka, Director of social services at Illusia,  no one is turned away from the door of the day center - everyone can get the help they need. Illusia does not demand sobriety from their customers, but rather firmly believes that everyone has the right to a place to live in.

“No one should have to earn a place to live in, it should be a human right.”

Additionally, people are not kept waiting, as the organization works relentlessly to provide the help needed, at the time of need. “People can come whenever, be themselves, and receive the help they need at the time. We don’t keep people waiting, we give them the help they need and assist them as much as we can at the time,” explained Saija. People can, for example, fill in applications for the Social Insurance Institution at the day center and the staff members call the Institution together with the customers to make sure they understand everything.

There used to be a bookcase where Naava is now. As the books weren’t used much, they were moved away. According to Saija, the green wall brings much more to the space and has more admirers than the bookshelf.

Peace of mind from nature

Many of the customers and residents enjoy working on nature-related projects, such as gardening. Because of this, the day center has made a ‘summer yard’ to the outside area of the center. This has been done by planting various kinds of plants and herbs, and growing them from tiny seeds to blooming plants.

“With the high concrete walls that surround the building, it is a complete surprise to find all the flowers, berry bushes, herbs and vegetables growing here,” Saija described. The idea came from the residents themselves, who requested a garden on the balcony of the building. Now, the garden has spread from the balcony to the courtyard and all the work has been done by the residents themselves.

According to Saija, whenever there is a sunny day, the doors of the day center are closed, and people go and soak up the sun in the courtyard. However, because of the changing of the seasons, an outside garden is not an all year round solution. This is why the staff of Illusia wanted to bring nature indoors.

Moreover, nature plays a big part in the everyday life of the day center’s staff and customers, as Blue Ribbon is a part of a Green Care project that aims to improve well-being by including natural elements and methods in the services provided. This includes, for example, activities in the nature, such as fishing and gardening, as well as bringing in natural elements like plants.

A breath of fresh air

One of the most noticeable changes made with the Green Care project in mind has been the introduction of Naava smart green walls to the day center. Saija had read about Naavas some time ago, and was interested in what they had to offer for the center.

As Illusia has a lot of visitors passing through every day, and with the common room being located in a basement, many have suffered from symptoms due to indoor air problems. Dust and dirt have been brought in by the busy, polluted street right next to the building. Some employees have even had to quit because of all these factors influencing the indoor air.

“People have gotten all sorts of symptoms from the indoor air here and we have never been able to figure out why. We see it as a work health and safety issue, and hope that these Naavas will help fix that.”

The day center and its customers’ relation with nature can also be seen in their response to the Naavas. The green walls have been received with admiring looks, and many have been surprised that the plants are real, living plants.

However, the Naavas don’t just look nice, they have made a real difference in people’s well-being as well. “We have a lot of people with allergies here, so it really makes a difference to have plants that are allergy-free,” Saija explained.

“Since there is no green in sight in the winter, it will be nice to see some indoors,” Saija pondered.

Bring nature indoors at your premises with Naava

Contact us to find out more about how Naava smart green walls can make you feel healthier, happier and more inspired.