Veera Niemi
veeevi@utu.fi +358 29 450 3110 +358 50 476 1392 Assistentinkatu 7 Turku ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9809-0619 |
homelessness; social work; child protection
Ongoing research projects on homelessness: ASKE, RADAR, HACL and European Homelessness Counts.
I have worked as a university teacher and doctoral student of social work in the Department of Social Recearch, University of Turku, during 2011-2015 and again from February 2021. In between I worked in child protection as social worker and head of a child protection agency in Keski-Uudenmaan sote -kuntayhtymä (Järvenpää). I have also experience from social work in health care (Turku university hospital) and in rehabilitation (Kuntoutuskeskus Petrea). Currently I am working in three research projects:
ASKE: Pathways to homelessness in the Turku region – from transitions to social, health, economic and technological sustainability, 2023-2026, funded by Länsi-Suomen yleishyödyllinen asuntosäätiö, through Turku Urban research programme. In English | ASKE-tutkimushanke
RADAR: RADAR -Register Data Analysis for Addressing Homelessness and Reducing it - Y-Säätiö (ysaatio.fi), 2024-2026, funded by The Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (Ara).
HACL: Exploring homelessness among young care leavers: Addressing challenges and finding potentials in a Nordic welfare context (HACL) | NordForsk, 2023-2026, funded by Nordforsk.
Recently ended projects:
EHC: EU - Homelessness Counts — LUCAS - Centre for Care research & consultancy, 2025, funded by European Union.
SEGRA: Fighting segregation and homelessness among the most vulnerable through housing social work, 2021-2023, funded by Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. In English | SEGRA | Tampereen korkeakouluyhteisö
In our research we join together different national and local population registers and social and health care client and patient registers in order to analyse homelessness longitudinally. Our analysis focuses especially on changes in housing pathways and major life events preceding, during and after homelessness periods.
In our other research projects we analyse also for example the intersection between homelessness and child protection after care in the Nordic Context, and develop methods for counting and monitoring homelessness.
In year 2026 I teach mostly on the specialisation education of social work and on courses focusing on social legistlation and multidisciplinarity.
Earlier, during 2011-2024, my teaching has focused on child protection, social work ethics, qualitative and quantitative methods and social work practice in University of Turku and Open University of Turku.
- Housing First and the reduction of homelessness in Finland among people with substance abuse problems (2026) Beyond the Nordic Welfare State. Extending Social Investments with Interventions. Karhula, Aleksi; Ollonqvist, Joonas; Leni, Elisabetta; Niemi, Veera; Moisio, Pasi
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Sosiaalityön rooli asunnottomuuden poistamisessa (2026) Niemi, Veera
(Other publication) - The intersection of leaving out-of-home care and the risk of homelessness: a scoping review (2026)
- Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Vaikuttavilla sosiaalipalveluilla saadaan aikaan pitkäkestoisia muutoksia ja kumuloituvia säästöjä (2026)
- Turun Sanomat
(E1 Popularised article) - Asukkaiden kokemukset asuinalueiden sosiaalisesta sekoittamisesta ja moninaistamisesta: Etääntymistä ja lähentymistä (2025)
- Janus: sosiaalipolitiikan ja sosiaalityön tutkimuksen aikakauslehti
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Asumiskriisin vaikeuttaman asunnottomuuden ratkaisut ovat kaikkien vastuulla (2025)
- Yhteiskuntapolitiikka
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal) - Asunnottomuuden poistaminen ajankohtaisena tutkimus- ja kehittämiskohteena Turussa (2025) Niemi, Veera; Rasinkangas, Jarkko
(E1 Popularised blog post) - Asunnottomuuden polut Turun seudulla – murroksista kohti sosiaalista, terveydellistä, taloudellista ja teknologista kestävyyttä (2025) SEAMK–SAMK–CENTRIA Tutkimusfoorumi 2025 Huhtasalo, Jenni; Niemi, Veera; Vähätalo, Mervi; Rasinkangas, Jarkko
(D3 Article in a professional conference publication) - Asunnottomuuteen vaikuttaminen hyötyy tiiviistä yhteistyöstä hankkeiden välillä (2025) Matikainen, Sara; Niemi, Veera; Rasinkangas, Jarkko
(Other publication) - Constructing residents’ (un)deservingness and rights in the urban housing displacement processes (2025)
- Housing Studies
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Kohtuuhintaisuus ja oikeudenmukaisuus kestävän asumisen murroksessa? (2025) Leni, Elisabetta; Niemi, Veera
(Other publication) - Oslo kutsui: jälkihuoltoteemainen Erasmus BIP-kurssi innosti sosiaalityön maisteriopiskelijoita (2025)
- Yhteiskunnasta, rakkaudella -blogi
(D1 Professional blog post) - Sosiaalityö on etiikan käsityöläisyyttä, jonka tueksi tarvitaan filosofiaa (2025)
- Ihmisyyden monet puolet -blogi
(E1 Popularised blog post) - The Intersection of Leaving Care and Homelessness: A Literature Overview in a Nordic Welfare State Context (2025)
- Nordisk välfärdsforskning - Nordic Welfare Research
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Turvallisempia tiloja yliopisto-opetukseen? (2025)
- Yliopistopedagogiikka
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal) - Tutkimuspäivien suuryleisöjen, viestinnän ja vaikeiden yhteiskunnallisten keskustelujen vuodet 2023-2024 Sosiaalityön tutkimuksen seurassa (2025) Granholm, Camilla; Günther, Kirsi; Niemi, Veera
(Other publication) - Ujoja portinvartijoita vai tieteen saavutettavuuden edistäjiä? Sosiaalityön tutkimuksen seuran some-viestinnän aktivoituminen (2025)
- Janus: sosiaalipolitiikan ja sosiaalityön tutkimuksen aikakauslehti
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal) - Understanding the intertwined dynamics between digitalization, homelessness and social marginalization – An integrative literature review (2025)
- Finnish Journal of eHealth and eWelfare
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Wrap-up of the first year of RADAR (2025) Leni, Elisabetta; Niemi, Veera
(Other publication) - Combining multiple administrative register sources takes homelessness research to a new level (2024) Niemi Veera, Leni Elisabetta
(Other publication)



