The majority of women who experience homelessness in Los Angeles County have experienced violence during their current episode of homelessness. And one third of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County report that a violent partner was the reason they became homeless. In this context, it comes as no surprise that safety and privacy are top priorities for women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County.
These are a few of the findings from a report based on interviews with 570 women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County. The report is a first because of the large sample size and because it includes responses from women experiencing homelessness across the whole county. The report has attracted media attention, including Route Fifty: What it’s like to be a homeless woman
The report will be of interest for a number of reasons, and well beyond the borders of Los Angeles. Here are four:
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- Women with experience of homelessness were involved in the survey design, interpreting the findings and crafting the recommendations. The report states that the findings are greatly improved by this structure. Knowing about the survey structure will help people in other jurisdictions to incorporate lived experience in research and policy activities.
- The researchers used ‘data walks’ to strengthen their findings. Data walks refer to multiple meetings with stakeholder groups to review and analyse the survey findings. Data walks helped identify what was needed most urgently. It seems likely that data walks also built buy-in for supporting the report when building a campaign to implement the recommendations.
- This study reports that women who are homeless live constantly with the threat of or the experience of violence. This is consistent with studies in other jurisdictions1. Safety should be top of mind in all homelessness policies and programs for women, even when there is no local survey.
- This study reports that minority populations are over-represented in the population of women experiencing homelessness. Groups that are over-represented in the LA County study include Black women, gender diverse and non-binary women as well as women with disabilities. This is consistent with studies in other jurisdictions2. The evidence suggests it is wise to plan for an over-representation of minority groups when designing and delivering services to women who are experiencing homelessness.
The full report is posted by the Urban Institute: Research Report: Los Angeles County Women’s Needs Assessment
