Addressing Needs of Women Experiencing Homelessness
LA County Homeless Initiative formed an Ad Hoc Committee on Women & Homelessness to understand and address the needs of women within the homeless crisis response system. The committee's recommendations focus on training, data analysis, funding priorities, and policy development to improve services for women facing homelessness.
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Presentation Transcript
Women & Homelessness Leticia Colchado, Principal Analyst LA County Homeless Initiative Shamaiah Manriquez, Member, LAHSA Ad Hoc Committee on Women & Homelessness Jessica Reed, Policy Manager, LAHSA April 25, 2018
2 Welcome & Introductions
3 Background LAHSA Ad Hoc Committee on Women & Homelessness formed in response to increasing number of women experiencing homelessness as demonstrated by the 2016 Homeless Count Purpose is to understand, consider, and address the needs of women within the homeless crisis response system Monthly meetings December 2016 July 2017 Final report released August 2017
Emergent Themes Lack of housing resources Involvement of individuals with lived experience Improvements to data collection and tracking Enhanced training and technical assistance Gender and trauma-informed service delivery
5 Recommendation Categories Training & Capacity Building Data & Reporting Funding Advocacy & Policy Development Service Delivery
Recommendation Categories & Examples* Data & Reporting Conduct a countywide housing gaps analysis for women experiencing homelessness. Conduct an analysis of what women need to feel safe, build community, and succeed in permanent housing. Training & Capacity Building Provide regular, ongoing training on trauma-informed care. Include people with lived experience as part of trainings. *A full list of recommendations is included in the Committee s report. Those provided here are meant as examples, not a comprehensive list.
7 Lived Experience Reflection
Recommendation Categories & Examples* Funding Consider needs of women in all funding decisions by prioritizing subpopulations in which women are overrepresented and addressing vulnerabilities specific to women and transgender women. Establish oversight at a system level to monitor for unintended bias in layered funding, and create flexibility for funders to balance out projects as needed. Advocacy & Policy Development Ensure that policies are in place to promote safety of all clients in all types of housing assistance. Establish a local policy to affirm that every woman deserves housing first and that access to housing and services will be low-barrier. *A full list of recommendations is included in the Committee s report. Those provided here are meant as examples, not a comprehensive list.
9 Lived Experience Reflection
Recommendation Categories & Examples* Service Delivery General Require trauma-informed services in all contracts, and establish monitoring mechanisms to determine that this is being implemented. Outreach Encourage proportional representation of women on multidisciplinary teams being established and/or funded through Measure H or any other public funds. Prevention Target prevention resources to older women, as data indicate women are more likely to become homeless as they age. *A full list of recommendations is included in the Committee s report. Those provided here are meant as examples, not a comprehensive list.
11 Lived Experience Reflection
Recommendation Categories & Examples* Service Delivery Interim Housing Enhance shelter standards to be inclusive of gender diversity. Permanent Housing Support streamlined and expanded production of multifamily, affordable housing, through direct funding, land use tools, and other means. Supportive Services Ensure that the health needs of women are considered and addressed, and that services are delivered through a gendered lens, with sensitivity to health, mental health, and substance use-related needs. *A full list of recommendations is included in the Committee s report. Those provided here are meant as examples, not a comprehensive list.
13 Lived Experience Reflection
14 Accomplishments to Date: LA County CEO distributed survey to HI strategy leads to report baseline information on how they are addressing recommendations CEO analysis of survey data resulted in the following recommendations reported to the Board of Supervisors on March 9: 1) Add a gender-based performance measure reporting requirement for strategy leads to include in quarterly reports 2) Strategy leads & LAHSA to identify & prioritize providers for training relevant to meeting the needs of women Strategy leads to ensure needs of women are reflected in Scope of Required Services for contracted providers $2.5 million in Measure H funds allocated for Bridge Housing for Women 3)
15 Accomplishments to Date: LAHSA Revised 2018 Homeless Count demographic survey to include: 1) Labor trafficking (emphasized "force, fraud, or coercion" in question) 2) Additional age breakout for women within the 25-54 age bracket 3) Expanded transgender categories (transwomen, transmen) 4) Broader continuum of violence/trauma that women experience New Policy: Housing Protections Under VAWA in the LA CoC New 200-bed Bridge Housing for Women Program funded by Measure H
16 Interactive Q&A
17 Thank You! Contact Us: For questions related to the Ad Hoc Committee on Women & Homelessness report, please email Jessica Reed at jreed@lahsa.org For questions related to the LA County Homeless Initiative, please email Leticia Colchado at lcolchado@ceo.lacounty.gov
