According to the most recent Point in Time count, women make up about one-third of those experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County, with hundreds concentrated in Skid Row. Women experiencing unsheltered homelessness can face tremendous barriers to coming indoors. Many have lost their social networks or live with mental health or substance use challenges, and more than half of all women experiencing homelessness have experienced domestic or interpersonal violence in their lifetime.
Launched in 2021 and run in partnership with County departments, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), and Downtown Women’s Center, the Every Woman Housed program is designed to meet the unique needs of women experiencing homelessness in Skid Row.
The program provides temporary and long-term housing and services to ensure women, families, and gender-diverse individuals in Skid Row have access to safe housing, comprehensive services, and support to achieve long-term housing stability. This includes intensive outreach to gain the trust necessary to bring women indoors, women-only interim housing beds, master leasing to lock in permanent housing units specifically for women, rental subsidies, and trauma-informed care and services to help ensure long-term housing stability.
As of February 28, 2025, the program has connected 1,147 women and gender-diverse people and 110 families with safe interim housing. Of those, 614 individuals and 57 families are now living in their own permanent homes.
Click here to read one of this program’s many success stories.