Los Angeles County Womens Needs Assessment: Listening Session Findings

In 2020, the City and County of Los Angeles recognized that unhoused, unaccompanied women are a distinct, vulnerable group of people experiencing homelessness who require unique policies, solutions, and services. Since 2001, the Downtown Women's Center (DWC) has conducted the Women's Needs Assessment (WNA) every three years to survey the the needs and characteristics of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles as well as the conditions they face. Funded by the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, the 2022 Women's Needs Assessment will be the first conducted countywide. DWC and the Homeless Initiative engaged the Urban Institute, in partnership with the Hub for Urban Initiatives, to conduct this expanded assessment. The research team is applying a mixed-methods, community-based approach to intentionally elevate the voices of unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. As part of this approach, the research team conducted listening sessions with women across the county. This brief contains the findings from those listening sessions, including women's experiences within the homelessness response system and what they are looking for in housing and homeless services