October 10 is the International Day of the Homeless. The purpose of this day is to express support and solidarity with homeless individuals and families, as one of the most vulnerable social groups, as well as to draw attention to their needs and existing challenges.

Despite minor improvements and fragmented initiatives in certain areas, we face a number of systemic challenges in Georgia regarding the provision of the right to adequate housing.

There is no unified vision in the country for the prevention of homelessness, the causes and extent of homelessness are unstudied, and there is no unified database on homeless persons. The majority of municipalities still do not have an approved procedure for registration of a homeless person/family, and where such a procedure exists, the concept of a homeless person is not uniform, in some municipalities the registration is long-term, and the satisfaction rate is low.

The results of the monitoring of the state of social housing by the Public Defender's Office, which was carried out in 18 social housing/shelters in 12 municipalities of Georgia, show that the majority of social housing in municipalities has an inadequate environment.

It is necessary for the central and local authorities to take systematic, effective and efficient steps towards improving the rights of homeless persons in the country. Implementing the recommendations and proposals of the Public Defender is critically important in this regard.