Homelessness due to domestic violence
When you think of the top reasons people are homeless, one may typically think of substance abuse and severe mental disorders but there are many other causes for people becoming unhoused. Domestic violence towards women and children can escalate to the point of homelessness. The COVID-19 pandemic added to financial issues in the home for many which lead to increased stress and violence. If the victim lost their job and was told to isolate, they would be stuck with their abuser. Some situations come to the point that the mother and child feel safer unhoused than with their abuser.
Why would this lead to homelessness versus moving to a low income home? Many women fleeing domestic violence are survivors of financial abuse. This form of abuse can mean not having access to family finances and/or not being allowed to work. These abusers typically isolate their partners from social networks so they have few friends or family to rely on in time of need. Due to lack of affordable housing a single parent may not be able to support themselves and their child with their current wage. Victims of abuse can also have poor credit scores or minimal employment history due to the violence they experienced.
Some landlords are unwilling to rent to a woman who has experienced domestic violence. Landlords have been known to discriminate against victims with a restraining order indicating domestic violence. Many landlords have adopted policies, such as “zero tolerance for crime” policies, that penalize victims of domestic violence. These policies allow landlords to evict tenants when violence occurs in their homes, regardless of whether the tenant is the victim or the perpetrator of the violence
There is the option of assisted housing but due to the wait lists for this are many women and their children are forced to choose between abuse at home or life on the streets. You may think, surely there must be somewhere for them to go but abusers typically isolate their victims from their support groups. Shelters are frequently filled to capacity and must turn away women and their children seeking help. Some cities provide motel vouchers for the nights when the shelters are full but this is only a temporary solution as it takes a long time to find permanent housing.
In Minnesota in 2003, for instance, 46 percent of homeless women reported that they had previously stayed in abusive relationships because they had nowhere to go. In 2003, in Fargo, North Dakota, 44 percent of homeless women reported that they stayed in an abusive relationship at some point in the past two years because they did not have other housing options.
References
COOPER, B. (2021, October 14). ‘The lower the income, the higher the prevalence for abuse’: domestic violence linked to poverty - Indianapolis Recorder. Indianapolis Recorder. https://indianapolisrecorder.com/the-lower-the-income-the-higher-the-prevalence-for-abuse-domestic-violence-linked-to-poverty/
Domestic Violence. (2013, February 22). National Alliance to End Homelessness. https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/what-causes-homelessness/domestic-violence/
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