Social counselling provides a supportive platform where you can openly discuss your life situation with a professional. Our aim is to offer guidance on applying for benefits and allowances, ensuring you receive the assistance you need.
We provide our services through both phone consultations and our chatbot, Hester. You can find Hester in the bottom right corner of the page, serving you 24/7 and providing anonymous support in general social welfare matters. Should Hester be unable to assist you, a professional is available to chat with you during opening hours.
The Finnish-language chat service is available Mon-Fri 8.15-16.00, while employees from the teams of social work for young people and student healthcare nurses are available in the chat Mon-Fri 12.00-15.00.
Please note that for your security, avoid entering your personal identity code into the bot. If necessary, our social instructor may request you to authenticate yourself using the suomi.fi service.
If you have already been assigned designated social worker from adult social work, ask them directly for guidance and advice.
Call us
Social counselling telephone service
How to contact us
We are available on weekdays from 8.15–16.00 at tel. +358 9 310 44400(Link starts a phone call).
Sotebotti Hester can be found in the bottom right corner of the page. Sotebotti Hester is a robot that serves you 24/7 and helps you anonymously with general social welfare matters.
If Hester cannot assist you, you can access the chat to talk with a professional during our opening hours. The chat service is available in Sotebotti Hester in Finnish on weekdays from 8.15–16.00. Teams from social work for young adults and nurses from student healthcare respond to the chat on weekdays from 12.00–15.00.
Do not provide your personal identification number to the bot! If it is needed, a social counsellor will ask you to authenticate through the suomi.fi(Link leads to external service) service.
You can ask for general advice and guidance by sending an email to the address sotepe.sosiaalineuvonta.aikuissosiaalityo@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)
By using the secure email system, you can communicate with us safely in terms of data security and, if needed, share your personal information. We will respond to your email within 1–3 business days. You can access the secure email service here.(Link leads to external service)
By following us on Facebook you can find answers to your questions.
Frequently asked questions
If you are not an adult social work client, you can get started by contacting a service point in your area by either calling or visiting it. After the service need assessment, you may have an adult social work client relationship, in which case you will be assigned a designated employee.
See the contact details and opening hours of our service points
If you have already been assigned a designated person and you know their name, please contact them directly.
View the contact information of the employees of adult social work for young adults
View the contact information of the employees of adult social work for over 30-year-olds
You can also send your designated employee a message in Maisa.
Go to Maisa(Link leads to external service)
If your matter concerns services for the elderly, please contact Senior Info.
If your matter concerns services for families with children and the need for support related to parenthood, please contactsocial counselling for families with children.
See contact information for social counselling for families with children
You may be assigned a designated employee in connection with the service need assessment. We carry out a service need assessment at adult social work service points. You can contact a service point in your area by calling or visiting it.
See the contact details and opening hours of our service points
Social counselling does not make service need assessments and we cannot book appointments for regional adult social work. However, we can leave a contact request for adult social work in your matter.
If you have already been assigned a designated person and know their name, please contact them directly.
View the contact information of the employees of adult social work for young adults
View the contact information of the employees of adult social work for over 30-year-olds
You can also send your designated employee a message in Maisa.
We recommend that you apply for benefits from Kela that are suitable for your current life situation. Kela provides expert advice on different benefits. The benefits offered by Kela include basic social assistance, which can also be applied for on an urgent basis, if necessary. Basic social assistance complements primary income when it does not cover all of your daily expenses. More information about all Kela’s benefits can be found on Kela’s website.
Go to Kela’s pages(Link leads to external service)
Social assistance consists of basic social assistance granted by Kela, as well as supplementary and preventive social assistance, which are applied for from wellbeing services counties - in Helsinki from the City of Helsinki.
See instructions for applying for basic social assistance from Kela(Link leads to external service)
See instructions on how to apply for supplementary and preventive social assistance
In adult social work, your overall situation can be outlined and you can get a service need assessment. On the basis of the service need assessment, social welfare may disclose information to Kela for consideration of not reducing the basic amount. You must contact the adult social work service point in your residential area to book an appointment.
See the contact details and opening hours of our service points
If you already have a designated employee, contact them either through Maisa or during the employee’s telephone hours. Depending on your age, you can find the contact information of your designated employee on the Adult social work for young adults or the Adult social work for over 30-year-olds page.
View the contact information of the employees of adult social work for young adults
View the contact information of the employees of adult social work for over 30-year-olds
Social welfare does not have to find you a cheaper apartment and, as a rule, it does not pay rent amounts exceeding the amount considered reasonable housing costs by Kela. In order for Kela to take into account all of your housing costs in an apartment considered too expensive, there should be a special reason for you living in that apartment. You can read more about the specific criteria on Kela's Housing costs and basic social assistance pages. You can also read what the social assistance benefit instructions say about specific criteria.
Go to Kela’s Housing costs and basic social assistance page(Link leads to external service)
Read the social assistance benefit instructions (Link leads to external service)(in finnish)
According to Kela, if there is no special reason for you to live in a too expensive apartment and you can no longer cope with your rental costs, we recommend that you look for a more affordable apartment. When looking for an apartment, you should submit an application at least to the cities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) with as few areal restrictions as possible, as well as to non-profit lessors. A bad credit record is not an obstacle to obtaining an apartment with these lessors. You can find a list of different lessorson the Rental housing in the Helsinki region page.
Go to Rental housing in Helsinki page
If you cannot find an apartment on your own, you can contact housing consultationin your residential area about your situation. If you live in a Heka apartment, you can contact a housing consultant according to your home address.
View the contact information of housing consultation
See the contact information of Heka’s housing consultants (Link leads to external service)
Social assistance consists of basic social assistance granted by Kela, as well as supplementary and preventive social assistance, which are applied for from wellbeing services counties - in Helsinki from the City of Helsinki.
Please note that before applying for supplementary social assistance, you should have a valid decision on basic social assistance - the decision may also be negative. If necessary, you can apply for basic social assistance from Kela on an urgent basis - contact Kela’s telephone service or visit Kela’s service point.
Learn more about applying for supplementary and preventive social assistance
A notification of the need for social welfare (also known as a notification of concern) can be made about an adult person when you are concerned about their well-being, health or safety and the person is not able to take care of themselves.
Based on your notification, social services professionals will contact the person you are reporting and assess what kind of help they may need. We cannot disclose information about the processing of a notification to anyone other than the subject of the notification.
We recommend that you report mainly using the form on Maisa service’s front page, which does not require authentication. If the person subject to the notification lives in Helsinki, you can also call the social counselling service number of the City of Helsinki at +358 9 310 44400 (weekdays 8.15 am –4 pm).
Go to Maisa(Link leads to external service)
Read more about submitting a notification of concern
You can also submit a notification of concern about an elderly person in Senior Info.
Read more about the notification of concern for an elderly person
If you are concerned about a minor, you can file a child welfare notification.
You can also find this page at hel.fi/social-counselling.