New shelters support Georgia’s homeless

Georgia’s homeless are being given a helping hand and a place to stay thanks to a new Government initiative.

Long-term shelters for hundreds of Georgia’s homeless have been earmarked to be built in Lilo, a town near the capital city Tbilisi. 

The shelters will house up to 240 homeless people, announced the Georgian Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure. 

Initially 2 million GEL from the state budget will be allocated to the new initiative. 

While discussing the project today, Regional Development and Infrastructure Minister Davit Narmania said: "There is need to build [homeless] shelters in big cities and homeless people from around the country will have the opportunity to use this service. 

Georgia’s homeless people will have the opportunity to access and stay at the shelters 24 hours a day. The facility will be equipped with kitchens, medical centers and bathrooms.  

Narmania said the Government would take the responsibility of taking care of the homeless people’s future. The shelter users will have the opportunity to be engaged in training courses to develop their professional skills, he said. 

The Government launched plans to build homeless shelters in December last year. The Tbilisi temporary shelters officially opened on December 12 and hosted its first needy guests at 2am that morning.  

The tents were heated with wood-burning stoves and they could accommodate 80 people at a time.

Earlier this year two homeless shelters in Georgia’s larger cities, including Gori and Kutaisi, were built.