What’s the problem?
Young people living on the streets are one of the most vulnerable groups in society. In Georgia, there are no state-run hostels for older teenagers making it very difficult for them to escape the trap of homelessness.
In addition, young people who are homeless or otherwise socially vulnerable in Georgia often find themselves victims of fraud, or indeed facing charges themselves. In practice, the State does not provide a legal service which upholds their legal rights, which results in many people being unjustly imprisoned, or facing longer sentences than they should.
How do we help?
We support a local charity called Mkurnali, which provides a lawyer to homeless young people who get in trouble with the police in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. Thanks to this legal service most of the teenagers they represent have their sentences reduced and many are found entirely innocent. This is just the start of their work. They also house around 20 homeless young people, including families, and provide training and employment in their social enterprises. St Gregory’s funds the legal service and contributes to the cost of feeding their residents and employing an outreach worker to connect directly with teenagers still living rough.
We are delighted that Katie Melua has recently supported our fundraising efforts for Mkurnali. Her video, created exclusively for St Gregory’s Foundation, raised over £2,000.