Promotion of well-being

Promoting wellbeing is one of the City of Hämeenlinna’s strategic objectives. The city promotes residents’ wellbeing, health, and everyday safety on a long-term basis and in cooperation with various stakeholders.

Promoting wellbeing, health, and safety is a core function of the municipality. Municipalities and wellbeing services counties share responsibility for the wellbeing and health of area residents. This work belongs to all city operators, and the city does not carry it out alone. Cooperation with residents, organisations, businesses, and other partners is important.

The aim of promoting wellbeing is to increase residents’ wellbeing, health, functional capacity, and everyday safety. At the same time, this work prevents illness and exclusion while strengthening participation. Promoting wellbeing improves quality of life, supports employment and productivity, and helps prevent the growth of social problems and inequality.

Wellbeing promotion work in Hämeenlinna

Promoting wellbeing in Hämeenlinna is built from several components. The municipality’s high-quality basic services form the most important part of this work. Preventive substance abuse work, strengthening participation, and the Child-Friendly City initiative support safe everyday life and wellbeing at different life stages. Promoting accessibility ensures that services and environments are usable by everyone. The wellbeing of older people is supported comprehensively through the municipality’s core services, housing counselling, and in particular proactive housing planning, as well as through the activities of the Pysäkki volunteer centre. Promoting physical activity supports health, functional capacity, and community spirit across the entire population. Together, these form a planned, cross-sectoral whole that promotes the wellbeing, health, and safety of all Hämeenlinna residents.

The city’s management team is responsible for directing the promotion of wellbeing, health, and safety. The wellbeing and health promotion team within the Education and Wellbeing division coordinates this work together with the wellbeing and health promotion working group.

Once each council term, the wellbeing and health promotion working group prepares a wellbeing plan and a wellbeing report. The working group also draws up an annual wellbeing report, which is used to monitor the state of residents’ wellbeing and the impact of wellbeing promotion work. The working group ensures that the objectives and measures are reflected in the divisions’ annual operating plans. It also gathers information on the population’s health and wellbeing, as well as on the functioning of services. The working group serves as the steering group for preventive substance abuse work and for work on equality, non-discrimination, accessibility, and inclusiveness.

The wellbeing and health promotion working group includes representatives from various city divisions and from the Well-being services county of Kanta-Häme. The working group is chaired by Jari Pekuri, Sports and Wellbeing Manager.

Current plans and reports

In Hämeenlinna, the promotion of wellbeing is guided by the city’s plan for promoting wellbeing, health, and safety. This plan includes a preventive substance abuse work plan, an accessibility and inclusiveness plan, and a plan for supporting the ageing population. The overall framework also includes the separate Child-Friendly Hämeenlinna programme, which is the city’s wellbeing plan for children and young people, and the Hämeenlinna for All programme, which is the city’s equality and non-discrimination plan.

• Plan for Promoting Wellbeing, Health, and Safety 2026–2030 (pdf)
• Child-Friendly Hämeenlinna Programme (pdf)
• Hämeenlinna for All – Equality and Non-Discrimination Plan (pdf)
• Wellbeing Report 2021–2024
• Wellbeing Report 2025 (pdf)
  • Appendix 1 Preventive Substance Abuse Work Report (pdf)
  • Appendix 2 Description of Stiglitz’s Dimensions of Wellbeing (pdf)
  • Appendix 3 HYTE Statistical Appendix 2025 (pdf)
  • Appendix 4 Data Sources for the 2025 Wellbeing Report (pdf)

Contact information