Government to build permanent shelter for homeless in Tbilisi

A woman brought to a homeless shelter in Tbilisi died due to unknown reasons. She was brought to one of the tents arranged by the government on December 30th by police officers. Medical experts still have to identify reason of her death. According to the homeless who were placed in the same tent with the victim, the woman had mental problems and she also refused to eat.

On January 10th another homeless person died in a tent in Gori. According to other beneficiaries of the Gori shelter, he was an alcoholic and heavy drinking might have caused his death.

Tents in Tbilisi, Gori and Kutaisi were arranged in order to help homeless people survive the cold winter. Approximately 200 individuals are currently living in the tents, which are heated with wood-burning stoves and have electricity and beds. According to the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, beneficiaries are supplied with medicine and doctors are working 24-hour shifts in the tents.

In order to monitor the situation in the tents, the First Deputy Minister of Healthcare Dimitri Makhatadze together with the Head of Emergency and Coordination Regime Department Zurab Utiashvili visited the Tbilisi shelter on January 11th.

According to the ministry, the homeless are constantly provided with the necessary medical assistance. Some of the beneficiaries are in need of additional examination and they will be transported to hospitals.

The Public Defender's office is also monitoring the situation in the shelters. Representatives of the office visited tent installed in Kutaisi, which is a shelter for 4 homeless at the moment. The Public Defender’s office says they are not provided with the minimum living conditions. They are not provided with flatware and have to live in anti-sanitary conditions. According to the beneficiaries from Kutaisi, some people were forced to leave the shelter due to unbearable living conditions.

The Public Defender's office called on Kutaisi city Municipality to pay more attention to the shelter and provide homeless people with sufficient care.

The Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure in co-operation with the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, will start to build a new shelter for the homeless in Tbilisi. According to the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, David Sergeenko, experts have already begun the necessary work to find a sufficient place for the shelter. The ministries are considering either building cottages or finding a building to start a shelter, which will act as a permanent place to stay for the homeless in Tbilisi. According to Minister Sergeenko, a new shelter will meet all necessary standards and will be equipped accordingly.