Do you want to support young people?
Youth Shelters of the Red Cross help young people and their families and other loved ones in five wellbeing services counties. In addition to the Youth Shelters, we also meet with young people at schools and educational institutions, youth facilities and shopping centres, for instance. Moreover, we provide support via Nettiturvis and the Sekasin chat.
Youth Shelters help around the clock, every day of the year. Workers and volunteers work together to help young people and their loved ones at Youth Shelters. Volunteers play a key role in Youth Shelters’ operations and in supporting young people.
Welcome on board as a volunteer at a Youth Shelter! Further information on volunteering and instructions on how to become a volunteer are available below.
It is great to be of help to a young person in a difficult situation simply by being there.
As a volunteer, you are an important part of the community of Red Cross volunteers, helping young people, families and their loved ones in various crises and worries. We work together with the young person and their loved ones, listening to them.
As a volunteer, you have an opportunity to develop our activities together with professionals, young people and their loved ones as well as other volunteers. Youth Shelter workers always provide support to volunteers.
Who can become a volunteer?
There are hundreds of volunteers working in different positions at the Youth Shelters, and they come from different backgrounds and different sectors. Our Youth Shelter volunteers are united by a common interest in matters related to adolescence and in helping young people.
If you have a genuine desire to help young people and their loved ones by being present and doing ordinary everyday things, you are a good fit to be a volunteer. At Youth Shelters, you will receive training, guidance and continuous support from a professional. You can also advance in your duties and receive more responsibility as a volunteer.
We hope to have people of all ages with different language and culture backgrounds come and join us.
Some tasks may require you to be old enough or be proficient in Finnish. Together, we will make sure to find the right tasks for you.
How can you help young people?
As a volunteer, you support young people at different stages of their life. You are present for the young person, listening, conversing and offering information and new perspectives for them. Volunteering may also involve practical matters such as cooking at a Youth Shelter or joining a young person in recreational activities.
Volunteers are present not only at the Youth Shelters but also wherever young people spend their time, such as online. You can become an online volunteer from anywhere in Finland or the world.
As a volunteer, you can e.g.:
- be on duty with our workers at our crisis accommodation for young people
- be a support mentor, i.e. a safe adult, to a young person becoming independent
- lead group activities for young people at the Pirkanmaa Youth Shelter
- help young people in the Sekasin chat (requires proficiency in Finnish or Swedish)
- be an online support mentor to a young person becoming independent
- be present as a safe adult in the Discord living room.
How to start helping young people as a volunteer
Joining us is easy. You can read about and sign up for the Youth Shelters' events and activities in the Oma Punainen Risti service.
Alternatively, you can e-mail us at vapaaehtoiset.turvatalo@punainenristi.fi and we will contact you. You can also contact your local Youth Shelter directly.
We interview everyone who wishes to become a volunteer. Every new volunteer receives induction training, a personal introduction to their role and continuous support from a professional. We will also ask you to provide a criminal record extract, but we always agree on this with you.
We are glad to have you on board helping and making a difference!
Feeling that your actions are meaningful is important, and the fact that volunteers are appreciated at Youth Shelters contributes to this feeling enormously.
Contact us or pay us a visit!
Address
Läkkisepänkuja 2 A 14, 02650 Espoo
+358 (0)50 3390619
turvatalo.lansi-uusimaa@redcross.fi
(temporary accommodation, discussion support, fixing sleep patterns and volunteer activities)
Director Isto Onali
+358 (0)40 770 4579
isto.onali@punainenristi.fi
Senior Crisis and Family Worker Emma Kemi
+358 (0)40 627 3431
emma.kemi@punainenristi.fi
(support in becoming independent, cooperation with schools and educational institutions, student internships)
Instagram, TikTok: @nuortenturvis
Facebook, LinkedIn: @Nuorten turvatalo
Opening hours
The Youth Shelter is open around the clock on weekdays and from 5 pm to 10 am on weekends. Temporary accommodation for young people is open every day from 5 pm to 10 am.
For more information about our services:
Discussion support (PDF)
Fixing sleep patterns (PDF)
Temporary accommodation (PDF)
Support in becoming independent (PDF)
Volunteer at a Youth Shelter (pdf)
Contact details and parking
Youth Shelter Western Uusimaa is located in Leppävaara and is easily accessible by public transport (bus and train). The shelter is easily reached with A, E, S, U, L and Y train services that stop in Leppävaara and with Espoo’s internal buses.
There is a carpark approximately 70 metres away, with two designated parking spaces for people with reduced mobility.
Accessibility information for the building
There are signs at the entrances to the shelter. The widths of the external doors when fully open are 162 cm and 130 cm. The downstairs external door has a buzzer at a height of 152 cm. To open the door on weekday evenings and at weekends, press this buzzer. During the daytime, the downstairs door will be open.
The shelter is located on the third floor of an office building. The shelter can be accessed by lift, which has a door width of 80 cm and a threshold approximately 4 cm high. There are no ramps available.
You can see a photo of the front door here.
Venue
The toilet and shower facilities in the shelter are not fully accessible, and have a door width of 57 cm and a threshold height of 2.5 cm. Youth Shelter Western Uusimaa has a clearly laid-out structure and is an office-like space. There are five bedrooms for young people to use, one of which features twin beds. The door openings to the bedrooms are 85 cm wide and they have a threshold of 3 cm.
The shared living room is spacious but the dining room is narrower. The rugs, plants and furniture in all the rooms in the shelter can be moved around.
Assistants
Assistants are welcome in the accommodation. If you are bringing an assistance dog with you, please contact the shelter in advance.
We always try to find alternative meeting places in situations where an individual requiring assistance and support cannot come to our premises. For example, we can arrange meetings online or in-person meetings by agreement in other locations. An interpreter can be present at all meetings.
Address
Uudenmaankatu 32 A, 00120 Helsinki
Tel. +358 (0)9 622 4322, WhatsApp +358 (0)40 173 4149
turvatalo.helsinki@punainenristi.fi
Manager Kirsti Viinikka
+358 (0)40 570 9397
kirsti.viinikka@punainenristi.fi
Coordinator Tiia Suutarinen
+358 (0)40 660 6980.
tiia.suutarinen@punainenristi.fi
(volunteer activities, cooperation with schools and educational institutions, student internships)
Instagram, TikTok: @nuortenturvis
Facebook, LinkedIn: @Nuorten turvatalo
Opening hours
The Youth Shelter is open around the clock on weekdays and from 5 pm to 10 am on weekends. Temporary accommodation for young people is open every day from 5 pm to 10 am.
For more information about our services:
Discussion support (PDF)
Fixing sleep patterns (PDF)
Temporary accommodation (PDF)
Support in becoming independent (PDF)
Volunteer at a Youth Shelter (PDF)
Contact details and parking
Helsinki Youth Shelter is located within easy reach of public transport connections in Helsinki’s Punavuori district. There are a number of options for getting to Helsinki Youth Shelter: the number 20 and 30 bus routes and tram routes 1 and 3. There are metro and train stations within walking distance. There is no dedicated client parking.
Accessibility of the building
Helsinki Youth Shelter is located on the second floor of an old stone apartment block. There are four steps and a railing up to the main entrance of the shelter (no ramp). At the top of the steps is an entry phone, with which you can contact the shelter’s personnel. The entry phone is located at a height of 140 cm. The logo of Helsinki Youth Shelter is at number 6 on the entry phone unit. Helsinki Youth Shelter does not have any signs visible at street level.
In the stairwell is a small lift and a winding stone staircase. The lift is not big enough to accommodate a wheelchair.
You can see a photo of the front door here.
Indoor spaces
The shelter is set up as a home-like apartment. The shelter is located on a busy road and above a restaurant, so noises from the street can be heard in the apartment. There are four bedrooms for young people, two of which feature twin beds. The thresholds to the rooms are 2–5 cm high and the door openings are 70–85 cm wide. The living room is spacious but the dining room is somewhat narrow.
The toilet and shower facilities are narrow and not obstacle-free. The furniture, rugs and house plants in the rooms in the shelter can be moved around.
Assistants
Assistants are welcome, however please notify the shelter in advance if you wish to bring an assistance dog.
We always try to find alternative meeting places in situations where an individual requiring assistance and support cannot come to our premises. For example, we can arrange meetings online or in-person meetings by agreement in other locations. An interpreter can be present at all meetings.
Address
Hämeenkatu 22 C, 33200 Tampere
Tel. +358 (0)40 556 6661, WhatsApp: +358 (0)40 556 6661
turvatalo.tampere@punainenristi.fi
Director Mari Uusi-Niemi
+358 (0)400 740 798
mari.uusi-niemi@punainenristi.fi
Coordinator Johanna Riiheläinen
+358 (0)40 726 1307
johanna.riihelainen@punainenristi.fi
(volunteer activities, cooperation with schools and educational institutions, student internships)
Opening hours
The Youth Shelter is open around the clock on weekdays and from 5 pm to 10 am on weekends. Temporary accommodation for young people is open every day from 5 pm to 10 am.
instagram.com/nuortenturvis_tampere
For more information about our services:
Discussion support (PDF)
Fixing sleep patterns (PDF)
Temporary accommodation (PDF)
Support in becoming independent (PDF)
Art group (PDF)
Teaching Recovery Techniques TRT (PDF)
Volunteer at a Youth Shelter (PDF)
Contact details and parking
Youth Shelter Pirkanmaa is located in the centre of Tampere and is easily accessible by public transport. The shelter has good bus and tram connections. There is no dedicated client parking, but there is plenty of room to stop outside the door.
Accessibility information for the building
Youth Shelter Pirkanmaa is located on the fourth floor of an apartment building. There are two steps up to the main entrance to the shelter (no ramp or railing). Next to the door is an entry phone, which can be used to contact the shelter’s personnel, as well as a sign with opening hours and contact details. The Youth Shelter Pirkanmaa logo is shown on the entry phone. There is no lift available in the stairwell, only a straight staircase. Each step is 14 cm high and there is only a railing on one side.
You can see a photo of the front door here.
Venue
Youth Shelter Pirkanmaa is located in an old stone building and the premises are clearly laid out, in an office-like space. There are three bedrooms for young people, all of which feature twin beds. The bedrooms, living room and kitchen are spacious, with door widths of 88 cm. The furniture, rugs and plants in the rooms can be moved around. The toilet and shower facilities are less spacious and the doors are narrower than 68 cm.
Assistants
Assistants are welcome in the accommodation. The ventilation and street noise are audible in the apartment to an extent.
We always try to find alternative meeting places in situations where an individual requiring assistance and support cannot come to our premises. For example, we can arrange meetings online or in-person meetings by agreement in other locations. An interpreter can be present at all meetings.
Address
Yliopistonkatu 24 A 15, 20100 Turku
tel. +358 (0)2 253 9667, +358 (0)40 660 8048 (also available by WhatsApp)
turvatalo.turku@punainenristi.fi
(cooperation with schools and educational institutions, student internships)
Director Marina Stubb
+358 (0)40 187 0664
marina.stubb@punainenristi.fi
Coordinator Minka Sundell
+358 (0)40 540 8430
minka.sundell@punainenristi.fi
(volunteer activities)
Instagram: @nuortenturvis_turku
TikTok: @nuortenturvis
LinkedIn: Youth Shelters
Opening hours
The Youth Shelter is open every day around the clock. Temporary accommodation for young people is open from 5 pm to 10 am.
We are also available by phone around the clock.
For more information about our services:
Discussion support (PDF)
Fixing sleep patterns (PDF)
Temporary accommodation (PDF)
Support in becoming independent (PDF)
Petty theft discussion (PDF)
Family group conference (PDF)
Family group mediation (PDF)
Volunteer at a Youth Shelter (PDF)
Contact details and parking
Turku Youth Shelter can be reached easily by public transport and is located in central Turku, on a pedestrianised street. The closest bus stop is located two blocks away. Cars can stop outside the door to pick up and drop off. There is no client parking at the shelter. There are carparks and on-street parking located close by. The shelter has no dedicated spaces for people with reduced mobility, but there are two public spaces nearby. In this photo you can see the public parking spaces for people with reduced mobility on Kristiinankatu. The parking spaces are located on a slight slope.
Accessibility information for the building
The shelter is located on the fifth floor of an apartment building. The front door is heavy and is kept locked. You can contact the shelter’s personnel using the entry phone, which is labelled ‘SPR turvatalo’. There are two steps to the entrance. There is a portable ramp in the stairwell, right next to the door. There is a small lift available, however it is not big enough to accommodate a wheelchair. The lift door is heavy.
In this photo you can see the front door to the building.
Venue
The shelter is located in an old stone apartment building. The apartment is home-like in nature. There are three bedrooms available to young people, with two of these rooms featuring twin beds. The doorways to these rooms are 80 cm wide, with 2 cm thresholds. The living room is spacious but the kitchen is small. The toilet and shower facilities are not fully accessible. The furniture, rugs and plants in the rooms of the shelter can all be moved around.
Assistants
Assistants are welcome, however please notify the youth shelter in advance if you wish to bring an assistance dog.
We always try to find alternative meeting places in situations where an individual requiring assistance and support cannot come to our premises. For example, we can arrange meetings online or in-person meetings by agreement in other locations. An interpreter can be present at all meetings.
Address
Rekola Estate, Sairaalakatu 3, 01400 Vantaa
tel. +358 (0)50 339 5413, WhatsApp: +358 (0)50 339 5413
turvatalo.vantaa@punainenristi.fi
Director Pekka Väänänen
+358 (0)40 548 2750
pekka.vaananen@punainenristi.fi
Coordinator Sara Jessen
+358 (0)40 620 2138
sara.jessen@punainenristi.fi
(volunteer activities, cooperation with schools and educational institutions, student internships)
Instagram, TikTok: @nuortenturvis
Facebook, LinkedIn: @Nuorten turvatalo
Opening hours
The Youth Shelter is open around the clock on weekdays and from 5 pm to 10 am on weekends. Temporary accommodation for young people is open every day from 5 pm to 10 am.
For more information about our services:
Discussion support (PDF)
Fixing sleep patterns (PDF)
Temporary accommodation (PDF)
Support in becoming independent (PDF)
Volunteer at a Youth Shelter (PDF)
Contact details and parking
Youth Shelter Vantaa-Kerava is best reached by the K train (stop Rekola, 750 m from the shelter) or by Vantaa’s internal buses, with the nearest bus stop approximately 200 m away. If arriving by car you can drive into the building’s yard, where there is plenty of space, but there are no marked parking spaces.
Accessibility information for the building
The building’s entrance is not fully accessible. There are 12 steps up to the entrance and the doorbell is located at the entrance. There is no ramp.
You can see a photo of the building here.
Indoor spaces
The shelter is located on the Rekola estate, in a two-storey wooden house built in the 1880s. The building has a somewhat complex layout and the hallways and doorways are narrow. Downstairs are meeting rooms, while the bedrooms are located upstairs. There is a narrow, twisting stairway leading upstairs. The floors and stairs are uneven and there is no lift in the building.
There are three bedrooms, two of which feature three beds each and one of which features twin beds. The bedrooms are relatively spacious.
The toilet and shower facilities are not fully accessible. The furniture, rugs and house plants can be moved around.
Assistants
Assistants are welcome in the accommodation. Please inform the shelter in advance if you wish to bring an assistance dog.
We always try to find alternative meeting places in situations where an individual requiring assistance and support cannot come to our premises. For example, we can arrange meetings online or in-person meetings by agreement in other locations. An interpreter can be present at all meetings.
Further information on Vantaa Youth Shelter also available on Rednet.
Our Nettiturvis online shelter also offers discussion help and support for becoming independent online. You can attend 1–10 online meetings.
You can book an online meeting from anywhere in Finland. Appointments are available every weekday without delay. Online meetings are free of charge. Book an online meeting here.
In the Sekasin chat, young people can talk with reliable adults about anything on their mind (this service is only in Finnish and Swedish).
Come meet and listen to young people online: become a volunteer in the Sekasin chat. (requires a good knowledge of Finnish or Swedish languages)
Digiraati is a unique participation and influencing platform for people under the age of 29. Participating in Digiraati discussions is an easy and safe way to make one’s voice heard. Digiraati also offers many kinds of volunteer activities for young adults.
Read more and join Digiraati! (Only in Finnish for the time being)
Digiraati discussions strengthen the interaction between young people and decision-makers. Digiraati is an excellent tool for interacting with young people when an organisation wants to engage in development work or make decisions concerning young people.
Read more and contact us. (Only in Finnish for the time being)
Facebook: facebook.com/turvatalo
Instagram: instagram.com/nuortenturvis
TikTok: tiktok.com/@nuortenturvis
LinkedIn: Youth Shelters, Red Cross
Pentti Savolainen, Manager of Finnish Red Cross Youth Shelters
tel. +358 (0) 40 776 4891