The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a motion titled “Preventing Homelessness Among Survivors of Domestic Violence.” The motion aims to reduce the inflow of homelessness and prevent the cycle of trauma for survivors living on the streets.

According to the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, there are close to 76,000 homeless people on any given night in Los Angeles County, with 22,320 of those people being women.

In November 2021, the County Board of Supervisors commissioned a report to conduct a countywide women’s needs assessment and shed light on the systemic factors contributing to their vulnerability.

The 2022 Countywide Women’s Needs Assessment by the Downtown Women’s Center showed that among unhoused women in Los Angeles County, 48.4 percent had experienced Intimate Partner Violence, with another 28.7 percent having reported leaving permanent housing because of domestic or interpersonal violence.

“We often say as it relates to homelessness that keeping people in the housing they’re in as a form of prevention is a great way to prevent homelessness,” said Lindsey Horvath, Supervisor for the Third District which includes the Westside. “But to people in a violent home, they shouldn’t have to choose between fleeing a violent home or being on the street, especially when they have small children who also are in need of shelter and care.”

Horvath further stated the board has made gender-based violence a top priority.

“We will continue to focus on ways that we can implement change on these issues. So in our fight to end homelessness, we have to keep our most vulnerable people safe and to create a more just Los Angeles County. This is a battle we must be ready to face head-on,” said Horvath.

The 2022 Women’s Needs Assessment showed that while experiencing homelessness, 57.9 percent of women had something stolen from them, 43.1 percent were repeatedly harassed or threatened, 35.3 percent were physically attacked, and 20.4 percent were forced to take part in unwanted sexual activity. When women end up in encampments, they are at increased risk of further violence which only perpetuates the cycle of trauma.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco, one in five women who become homeless in California flee their homes to escape violence and escalating abuse by an intimate partner. Intimate partner violence increases the risk of homelessness for survivors, particularly those with limited financial resources.

While intimate partner violence is often associated with women, the survey reported that 44 percent of men experiencing homelessness experience sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.

The Board of Supervisors directed the Department of Public Health, as well as other city offices

to report back in 90 days with an assessment of efforts being utilized and the resources available to serve domestic violence survivors to prevent them from becoming homeless, as well as an analysis that indicates what resources are lacking for the prevention of homelessness among survivors and resources for those that do fall into homelessness.

Additionally, the board requested the analysis to have information about available domestic violence shelters and whether they are sufficient to meet the existing needs of survivors, availability of housing for survivors to have a path out of shelters, as well as recommendations to improve the system of prevention for survivors, and to better serve survivors who are homeless after receiving feedback from the Gender-Based Violence Prevention Deputy Meeting.

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