Domestic Violence & Homeless Services Coalition
More than half of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles have survived domestic or interpersonal violence in their lifetime.
In the fall of 2016, with support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Blue Shield of California Foundation, DWC and Rainbow Services co-launched a cross-sector Domestic Violence and Homeless Services Coalition (DVHSC) to focus on the intersection of domestic violence and homelessness. The coalition’s aim is to create a client-centered system that increases access to safe housing and supportive services for survivors of domestic violence and their families, with an emphasis on integrated, trauma-informed care. Leading partners in the coalition include the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), Community Legal Aid SoCal, CSH Speak Up!, Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council, and County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office.
Read the full HERstory of DVHSC here.
2019 DVHSC Community Connections Summit
Held at the Double Tree Hotel in Little Tokyo, last year’s summit was full of innovative and timely content about the intersection of domestic violence and homelessness. Highlights included a “Lived Experience” panel featuring survivors of domestic Violence and homelessness, and a number of talks addressing racial and gender equity, the Coordinated Entry System (CES), creating a trauma-informed community, creating systems change, best practices, and the intersectionality of homelessness with gender, race, and domestic violence.
Resources
In 2017, DVHSC conducted a series of county-wide focus groups with domestic violence survivors who had experienced homelessness. The findings from these focus groups resulted in the DVHSC Focus Groups Report: Survivor Solutions to Program and Systems Change. Read the full report here, and the recommendations here.
Additional resources:
- Report & Recommendations of the LAHSA Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness
- Report & Recommendations of the LAHSA Ad Hoc Commitee on Women and Homelessness
- Shanti Kulkarni, “Intersectional Trauma-Informed Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Services: Narrowing the Gap between IPV Service Delivery and Survivor Needs,” Journal of Family Violence 2018
- Reaching Out: Intimate Partner Violence Resources, Information, and Safety (English)
- Tendiendo la Mano: Recursos para la Violencia de Pareja Información & Seguridad (Español)
- Representing Domestic Violence Survivors Who Are Experiencing Trauma and Other Mental Health Challenges: A Handbook for Attorneys