A ‘safe haven’ for homeless women provides second chances on LA’s Skid Row

Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles is home for about  3,800 unhoused Angelenos. Many of the inhabitants of the 50-block area live in tents or on the streets. The longer someone lives in such improvised settings on the streets, researchers and advocates say, the more challenging it becomes for them to find and keep permanent housing.  

The Downtown Women’s Center, located about two blocks from the heart of Skid Row, is working to change that for women and gender-diverse individuals.

“This is a safe haven for ladies,” said Ms. Angie, who is addressed with that honorific as the longtime senior resident manager of the women’s center, speaking to journalists taking part in the USC Center for Health Journalism’s California Health Equity Fellowship last week. 

Ms. Angie moves with boundless energy and speaks with a mixture of toughness and tenderness about supporting the center’s clients. She and other center staff teach residents whatever they need — from learning to ask for help to practical life skills such as cooking, doing laundry and shopping for groceries. 

“They show me everything in their (grocery) bag. They’re so proud,” said Angie tearfully.

She did not provide her full name but shared that her journey from addiction is what brought her to work at the center 19 years ago. “I wanted to give back,” said Ms. Angie. “I am passionate about it.”

She led a tour of the center’s permanent supportive housing at its San Pedro headquarters, which provides Section 8 voucher-based apartments with no time limit for homeless women 18 and older. The San Pedro Street location includes 71 fully stocked studios, a gym, library and common areas for fostering community. The facility also has a café, boutique, transitional job training, a health clinic and a day center that serves about 200 people daily with showers, clothes and free food.

“We reach almost 30% of all women in Los Angeles experiencing homelessness,” said Myong Kim, chief program officer at the center.

The Downtown Women’s Center was born out of a friendship between a homeless woman, Rosa Arzola, and social worker Jill Halverson in 1978. The center’s ongoing mission is to end homelessness for women and gender-diverse individuals. 

The programs in the main building are only part of the center’s activities, and the organization recently broke ground for Rosa’s Place, a 97-unit supportive housing campus next door. Additional supportive housing is available in a nearby building for women and a North Hollywood location for families surviving domestic violence. The organization also has two sites with 24-month limited housing and a rent support program to help homeless people afford housing throughout L.A. County.

In 2024, the center housed 461 individuals in all these locations. Among those in permanent supportive housing, 99% have maintained their housing, according to Downtown Women’s Center leaders. That’s compared to 81% for the city of LA’s Inside Safe interim housing program.

“We know that homelessness is a very complex issue, but the number one overriding factor is the lack of affordable housing,” said Kim, the chief program officer. 

Asked why the Downtown Women’s Center had a higher success rate in keeping people housed, Kim pointed to the organization’s emphasis on long-term services.

“The high retention rate is the focus on services. Some organization house people, and then move on to the next person because of there’s a lot of pressure politically and locally to get people off the street ... We prioritize the long-term services too.”

In January 2023, a record-high 653,104 people were homeless nationwide. The high cost of housing was identified as a major contributor, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. High housing costs disproportionately affect women, and domestic violence, poverty and single motherhood all raise the risk of homelessness. Systemic racism and sexism add to the burden for women of color and the LGBTQ+ community. 

Unhoused individuals have a higher prevalence of health problems, such as chronic physical ailments and mental health difficulties — mental and behavioral health problems can both be a cause and the result of homelessness. Substance abuse disorder affected 44% of people experiencing homelessness, according to a 2024 JAMA report. Another study found that nearly 42% of people experiencing homelessness regularly used drugs before becoming homeless. Stress, lifetime trauma and abuse likely contribute to poor health. In a 2023 California report from UCSF’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, over a quarter of women ages 18 to 44 reported a pregnancy while homeless. 

In 2024, 75,500 individuals were homeless in L.A. County, according to the point-in-time count, not including Pasadena, Glendale or Long Beach. About 35% of those counted identified as women, transgender, nonbinary or other, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency. More than two-thirds identified as a member of a racial or ethnic minority. More than 40% reported a history of domestic violence. 

“There aren’t a lot of services geared specifically toward women’s needs,” said Kim. “Domestic violence is (seen) as a personal and family matter,” she added. We need to treat this as a public health crisis.” 

She said services around Skid Row mainly aim to serve men, families or women with children. DWC focuses on assisting women without children or partners because that group accounts for more than two-thirds of women entering their doors. 

Gina Murdoch, deputy program officer at DWC, attributes the center’s success in keeping women housed in part to its use of trauma-informed training for staff and its deep investment in wrap-around services and supports for the clients. 

Trauma-informed care acknowledges the impact of traumatic events, such as abuse, violence or other adversities, on a person’s health and well-being. The center’s wrap-around services including life skills, physical and mental health care, job preparedness, access to social services, as well as safe housing. 

“I was broken,” said LaShornda, a former resident who is now a barista in the DWC’s café. She didn’t give her last name to protect her privacy.

She has survived domestic violence, gang involvement, incarceration, losing custody of her children and living under an L.A. freeway overpass. 

“When I came here, I was mean. I was bitter,” LaShornda said, “Mental health was my main setback.”

Initially, she didn’t like having a therapist until her third one, who connected with her. LaShornda said it’s been a hard journey. She attributes getting her life together and her kids back to God’s grace and the help she received from her mom, Homeboy Industries and the Downtown Women’s Center.

“Now, I’m living my best life,” said LaShornda.