Homelessness can be defined as living in a shelter, being in a transitional phase of housing, or living in a place not fit for human habitation.

Sleeping in the open air, riverbeds, building corners, abandoned buildings, and under bridges is an everyday lifestyle for some of Namibia's inhabitants.

At the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the government set up tents for many of Windhoek's homeless, while the rest of the country faced strict lockdown measures.

Homelessness is not unique to Namibia; worldwide estimates indicate that over 150 million people are homeless. International NGO Habitat for Humanity estimated in 2015 that 1.6 billion people around the world live in "inadequate shelter."

These are people who, for the most part, are not living on the streets by choice but are forced to do so due to circumstances.