Homelessness and housing exclusion represent an important problem in Georgia. However, this issue is being inadequately recognized within political and social spaces.
Despite the acuteness of the problem, the needs of homeless individuals and the forms and reasons of homelessness or housing exclusion remain unstudied. To date, the number of homeless individuals has not been recorded and there is no relevant database. In addition, no research has been conducted on the scope of the problem of housing exclusion nor the increasingly severe situation of homeless persons.
Due to inadequate recognition of homelessness as a problem and its exclusion from the political agenda, research on the problem of homelessness or housing exclusion in Georgia is related to significant complications[1]. The grave social and economic conditions of homeless groups, insufficient access among them to different rights, low levels of political participation and the absence of self-organization, complicates the public articulation of their needs and requirements, making the problems of homelessness even more invisible and indefinitely delaying the preparation of bases for their resolution.
In recent years, the country has seen several inchoate civic movements against housing exclusion, which asserted the need of policy dialogue with the government.
The study commissioned by Open Society Georgia Foundatoin and prepared by Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) shows that Georgia has no comprehensive vision how to combat or prevent homelessness.
For the analysis on state policies on homelessness read the Report.