By Doug Smith
One in five women who become homeless in California flee their homes to escape violence and escalating abuse by an intimate partner, a new analysis of a statewide survey has reported.
The study by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco found that a dearth of domestic violence shelters leaves women exposed to more violence in homeless encampments.
“That system is completely overwhelmed, and people are winding up in encampments,” said Margot Kushel, director of the research group and co-author of the report.
Among those who reported being victims of violence in the six months before losing their housing, 2 in 5 were victimized again while homeless, usually at the hands of a former partner who tracked them down.
Read more at: LA Times