Lapinlahti Foundation sr raises funds to save and preserve the protected heritage buildings of the Lapinlahti Hospital Park as a cultural environment open to all, promoting mental well-being. The Foundation may also support activities promoting mental health and inclusive culture in the Lapinlahti region in other ways.
The buildings and the park are owned by the City of Helsinki. The transfer of the buildings to a commercial operator would jeopardise the existing public utility activities in the area, which are open to all.
The Foundation believes that the City of Helsinki should remain the owner of the site and its buildings. City ownership is the best guarantee for the continuation of an open and non-profit activity.
The charter of the Lapinlahti Foundation was signed on 31 March 2023 in Helsinki. The founders of the Foundation are MIELI Mental Health Finland ry, Pro Lapinlahti mental health association ry, Osuuskunta Lapinlahden tilajakamo, Kaakkois-Suomen sosiaalipsykiatrinen yhdistys ry, Y-Säätiö sr and Dream Broker Ltd, which also acted as the anchor donor of the Foundation.
The Lapinlahti Foundation was established to support the continuity of existing mental health and inclusive cultural activities in the Lapinlahti region. Secondarily, the Foundation can also support non-profit mental health work elsewhere in Finland.
The Lapinlahti Foundation raises funds for mental health and cultural work in Lapinlahti, Helsinki. Donations can also be used to preserve the cultural heritage of the Lapinlahti area. The Foundation can support the maintenance, renovation and development of buildings in the Lapinlahti area and the protection and care of the park, which is open to all.
The Foundation distributes the funds raised in the form of grants to non-profit organisations in the Lapinlahti area for activities that are free of charge to the public. Secondarily, the Foundation can also support mental health activities in other parts of Finland.
The Foundation focuses on supporting the Lapinlahti region and does not currently make grants for activities elsewhere.
It is often implied that Lapinlahti is only open a few days a week. In reality, Lapinlahti is open to everyone every day of the year. In addition to cafés, museum and sauna, the area is home to a number of art exhibitions open to all and free of charge, dozens of studios offering services such as therapy, and hundreds of events, both large and small, every year.
Today, Lapinlahti is full of activities that continue the region’s more than 180-year tradition of mental health work. In Lapinlahti, there is a lot of rehabilitative and employable inclusion work, offering people a variety of work opportunities to help them move forward in their careers and lives. Lapinlahti also has a lot of activities to combat loneliness, promote integration and increase mental wellbeing, including groups, projects and events. Every day, Lapinlahti offers something open and free for everyone in the form of arts and cultural activities. And all this while respecting and nurturing the natural, built and living cultural heritage of the area. If the privatisation and commercialisation of Lapinlahti is started now, there is a risk that in a few years’ time the area will no longer welcome many of the groups of people for whom it is so important today, but mainly the already well-off people, for whom there are already enough good places and opportunities for participation in this rich city.
Lapinlahti’s activities and offerings can and should be developed on the basis of current activities. The Lapinlahti Community’s Lapinlahti 360 development proposal also includes a number of new activities, such as a mental health crisis home, a therapy hotel, an outdoor sports centre and artist residencies. The aim is also to have even wider opening hours for cafés, restaurants and saunas in the area. All this can be done in a responsible way, based on the principles of social entrepreneurship. For everyone in Lapinlahti, maximising profit for shareholders and investors is not the way forward; at the heart of everything we do must be the creation of maximum social value and broad inclusion.