In February and March 2022, the monitoring group of the Public Defender of Georgia inspected social housing for homeless people in Gori, Ozurgeti and Kutaisi and found that the conditions in social housing do not even minimally meet the right to provide adequate housing.
The problems identified in Ozurgeti and Kutaisi social housing are discussed in the 2021 parliamentary report of the Public Defender of Georgia. In addition, the public defender additionally wrote to all three local self-governments and requested the immediate resettlement of the beneficiaries from the facilities and their satisfaction with alternative living spaces corresponding to human dignity. Unfortunately, none of the municipalities shared the Public Defender’s request, thereby once again neglecting the right of the homeless to proper housing.
The situation in the social housing of Gori, located in the building of the former drug centre, is particularly disturbing. The building, in which about 80 families live, has not yet been transformed into a residence. Therefore, it is not suitable for permanent residence. The residence does not have sewage and drainage systems; There is no equipped kitchen or individual bathrooms. Residents do not have access to clean water. In these conditions, hygiene and safe storage of food products are impossible. The extremely harsh sanitary-hygienic conditions in the facility contribute to the spread of parasitological diseases, insects, rodents and reptiles, which pose a particular threat to the lives and health of the building’s residents.
According to the assessment of the monitoring group of the Public Defender of Georgia, the social housing standards of Gori are completely neglected. As a result, the residents have to live in disturbingly harsh, degrading conditions. The infrastructural environment here is completely inconvenient for disabled people. Due to the inaccessibility of the physical environment, people with limited mobility and those using wheelchairs are locked on a high floor for months, and their right to move is restricted. Severe sanitary-hygienic conditions are especially humiliating for disabled people, who are unable to take care of themselves and cannot use the services of appropriate assistants and caregivers.
Ozurgeti social housing, located in the building of the former maternity hospital, cannot even minimally satisfy the right to provide adequate housing. Despite the renovation work, about 50 families still live in extremely unbearable conditions. The drainage system in the building is faulty, and the air is polluted as a result of strong humidity.
The situation is particularly difficult on the first floor of the building, where the floor is broken, the walls and ceiling are plastered, water leaks during the rain and the air becomes so heavy that breathing becomes impossible at times. Residents in the created state often get sick, especially children and the elderly. The building has no access road, the outer perimeter is not landscaped, and there are no entertainment spaces for children.
Kutaisi social housing is located in the former telecommunications building. 90 families live in conditions of constant household noise without a private environment. In a small area, living spaces are insufficient, and the building is overcrowded; Due to the lack of a drainage system, the air is constantly moist and polluted. The building does not fulfil the functions of housing, and decent conditions are not created for the residents.
The public defender emphasizes that the right to proper housing does not only mean having a roof, that is, providing shelter. The right to adequate housing means the right to live in safe, peaceful and dignified conditions anywhere and to ensure full access to services for persons with disabilities.
Accordingly, the mentioned right includes not only the housing but also the obligation to be satisfied with proper housing, which the residents of the above-mentioned institution do not have access to.
The Public Defender of Georgia once again calls on the city hall of Gori, Ozurgeti and Kutaisi municipalities to consider the issue of the realization of the right to proper housing for the homeless and socially vulnerable families living in the former drug centre as quickly as possible, which in this case means their resettlement from the facility and providing them with an alternative living space appropriate for human dignity.