Warmly welcome to the homepage of The Finnish White Ribbon Union!
The Finnish White Ribbon Union is a nationwide non-governmental organisation in the social and healthcare sector, focused on substance abuse prevention and the promotion of healthy lifestyles and well-being. The aim of our work is to strengthen social equality and equity, to support people in diverse life situations and challenges and to call for action for a substance-free and healthier society. The target group is the whole population.
In addition to voluntary work, the main professional activities in our Kotipesä in Liisankatu, Helsinki, are family work, individual discussions with people in need and professionally-led peer support groups. Our client work is politically and religiously unaffiliated, and it is open to everyone regardless of personal beliefs or background. We follow general safer space principles in our premises and activities. These principles guide us in creating a respectful, inclusive, and equitable atmosphere for all participants. Our goal is that everyone feels welcome and able to be met as their individual selves.
We also have a vibrant community and arts-based wellbeing work with diverse populations including people with special needs, older people, people recovering from substance abuse, and children and young people. The association publishes the Valkonauha journal, which has been published since 1909.
Our eight local associations carry out important volunteer work across the country, offering support and connection in local communities. Our activities are supported by The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STEA), City of Helsinki, and private foundations. ​
We warmly welcome you to join us as a member, collaborator, supporter, and customer!
History: Organized maternal love
in Finland since 1896
The White Ribbon movement was founded in North America in the 1870’s. Over the following decades it expanded into an international movement with its current members residing in over 50 countries. The international organization presiding over national unions is called the World´s Woman´s Christian Temperance Union, WWCTU. The White Ribbon movement entered Finland in 1896 when the first local association was founded in Turku. Some of the early influential personalities were the Finnish women’s rights advocate Alli Trygg-Helenius and the Union’s first travel secretary Maria Stenroth, also known by her author name Marja Salmela. Activities in the early years focused on helping the most vulnerable groups in society, i.e. disadvantaged women and children. Shelters and half-way houses for women as well as children’s homes for boys and girls were founded in many parts of the country. Youth clubs were developed as a tool for working with youth. The Finnish White Ribbon union played an influential role in obtaining the first female police officers in Finland.
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The organisation in Finland, based on Christian-social values, was founded in 1905 as a women´s association. Local activities were started in Turku already in 1896. White Ribbon work has always been wide-ranging in Finland. From the beginning, the White Ribbon movement has been active both in association with the Lutheran church and as an ecumenical movement. Adhering to democratic practices and laws has been essential in maintaining a spirit of tolerance in societal connections. The democratic tradition was early on rooted into the Union by some of the first Finnish female members of Parliament and White Ribbon sisters, e.g. Aleksandra Gripenberg and Hedvig Sohlberg. The international White Ribbon movement battled strongly for women’s right to vote, as did the Finnish White Ribbon sisters in support of a common and equal right to vote.
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Today our work is centered around families, personal discussions with people needing support, supportive group activities, and maintaining a student home for women in Helsinki. Since 1909, the Union has published a magazine called Valkonauha (The White Ribbon). One of the capital area local associations, Greater Helsinki White Ribbon Association, maintains a retirement home named Liisankoti for women recovering from substance abuse.
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The Union has eight local associations in eight cities: Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Kuopio, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Oulu, and Tampere.