Social Services and Health Care Division

Service centres can be found across the city, and the services they offer are principally free of charge. In 2019, about 13,500 Helsinki residents had a service centre card making
them eligible for the services offered. Clients come to the service centres independently or with a friend or family member. Some clients are referred to the service centres by partners such as health centres, home care or hospitals. Clients are free to come and go, to join groups and participate or not, as they choose. Many clients have come to regard the service centre as an extension of their homes, a meaningful community that they enjoy for many years. Within the service centre, clients can – according to changes in their functional capacity or life situation – move from one leisure activity group to another, perhaps to a peer support group for clients requiring more assistance
The service centres cater to the needs of a diverse clientele spanning a wide age range with both individual and collective cultural experiences, designed to provide special moments or to give an additional boost to everyday routines. Clients may attend talks, concerts, daytime dances and singalong events. There is also a wide range of hobby and study groups available, in areas as diverse as watercolour painting, ceramics, sewing, woodwork, metalwork, drama, etc. The service centres also offer cultural experiences for those who could not independently access them or who would not otherwise go. Arts-based and activity-based methods allow clients to enjoy their cultural rights even with diminished functional capacity due to a memory disorder or severe mobility or communication impairments