CA Senate Passes Sen. Rubio Resolution Declaring March Unaccompanied Women Experiencing Homelessness Awareness Month

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California State Senate in a bipartisan,unanimous vote today passed a resolution by Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) declaring March 2022 as Unaccompanied Women Experiencing Homelessness Awareness Month. 

Senate Resolution 61 brings awareness to women experiencing homelessness without children or dependents – a large segment of the homeless population that is too often forgotten in state and local homelessness strategies. Nationally, unaccompanied women make up nearly one-in-three of adult individuals experiencing homelessness. Many of these women have been in abusive situations.   

“Women who are on their own and experience homelessness face unique challenges,” Sen. Rubio said. “Eighty percent of unaccompanied women report trauma or abuse as a cause of their homelessness. Too many of these women face an unimaginable choice – stay in an abusive relationship, or possibly end up homeless. As our state and local governments continue their work to address the homelessness crisis, it is critical that they identify resources and services that can be accessed by unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness.”

“The Downtown Women’s Center is the only organization in Los Angeles focused exclusively on serving and empowering women experiencing homelessness, and we appreciate Senator Rubio has championed awareness of the specific issues facing these women," said Amy Turk, C.E.O. of the Downtown Women's Center. "There are significant, longstanding gaps in our current homeless response system that disproportionally impact women, and awareness is a critical driver of resources and population-specific strategies that combat the circumstances exacerbating homelessness for unaccompanied women.”

Since joining the State Senate, Sen. Rubio has prioritized addressing the state’s affordable housing shortage and homelessness crisis. A member of the Senate Housing Production Working Group, she has authored several affordable housing bills over the past two years. Introduced this year, Senate Bill 914 would require California’s state and local homelessness plans to address how they will help domestic violence survivors and unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. In 2019, Sen. Rubio authored SB 751 to create the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust for local communities to collaborate regionally and support affordable housing projects and homeless shelter programs.

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Media Contact: Edward Barrera, edward.barrera@sen.ca.gov