“Things that take place in the home they call crime,” President Donald Trump said recently at Washington’s Museum of The Bible. Further diminishing the impact of domestic violence, he continued, “If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this is a crime.”
This was days before Yesennia Rocha, a California mother of two, was shot and killed by her husband, after a history of domestic violence.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is fighting such fire with fire. In response to Trump’s earlier gerrymandering redistricting efforts to favor the GOP, Newsom has set-up up a similar redistricting play—favoring Democrats.
The California governor continues to poke Trump on social media, using cheeky call-outs to his “tiny hands” and fragile ego. Long are the days, “When they go low, we go high,” as famously called out by former First Lady Michelle Obama.
As the country’s leaders continue their humiliating posturing, it is impossible to forget the impact these ridiculous theatrics have on real lives – especially women, survivors of gender-based violence, people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and every vulnerable person on the brink.
It appears their priorities are askew.
Leaders in Los Angeles County are at a crossroads to step in where state and federal leaders are failing to prioritize women and survivors of gender-based violence. In April, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to create a new county department to address homelessness – the Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH), shifting more than $3 million in funding from the Los Angeles Homeless Authority (LAHSA).
According to the LAHSA, there are 72,308 people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County, a 4% decline from 2024. In California last year there were 187,084 unhoused individuals, a slight 3% increase from 2023, the smallest increase across the country.
Governor Newsom credits this progress to initiatives and financial investments in mental health, streamlining the building of new housing, increasing funding, and strengthening accountability measures.
In 2024 there were over 160,000 domestic violence-related calls in California. In Los Angeles County, 36,720 survivors called law enforcement for help. Services for survivors are scarce at both the national and local levels.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) reports that on a single night, 73% of survivors’ needs were unmet due to a lack of resources, funding and/or staffing. More distressing is that 46% of that unmet need was for emergency shelter.
In Los Angeles County, that figure is more grim. There are only 1,000 emergency and transitional housing beds in the county which are dedicated to survivors; yet the 2025 LAHSA point-in-time count reports 4,420 survivors were unsheltered due to fleeing domestic or intimate partner violence on a single night. That is a 77% shortfall (3,420) of survivor- specific emergency beds.
The County is committed to ensuring all stakeholders are involved in the design and implementation of the department, as such convenings are underway with the community including service providers, people with lived experience and stakeholders.
As a local advocate and Chief Program Officer at Haven Hills, a domestic violence shelter and service provider, I witness daily the need for survivor representation and dedicated funding and policy within the new department.
For too long, survivors of gender-based violence have been relegated as a “sub-population” of the larger homelessness population, yet the 2025 point-in-time count reports 42% of all unhoused single, adults have experienced domestic violence. This figure excludes other victimizations of gender-based violence including sexual assault and human trafficking, as that data is not tracked, we can assume that figure is much higher.
As the County maps out the department and program priorities, victim service providers are advocating for meaningful representation at the top of this new department – an executive leader to oversee and ensure funding, policies, systems and operations developed with survivors in mind.
Funding for survivor services in California is at risk and unstable as federal leadership threatens to reduce or eliminate funding or incorporate restrictions and conditions on critical funding streams provided through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
These funding streams provide critical life-saving services for thousands of survivors of gender-based violence. California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s effort to impose immigration enforcement requirements on over $1 billion in grants that are meant to help victims of crime, including survivors of gender-based violence.
Survivors require special needs when accessing homeless services. For example, we need the new County department to ensure all programs are compliant with the requirements of the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) which prioritizes the survivors’ safety, confidentiality, and focuses on swift, trauma-informed care practices so that survivors facing imminent threat of harm, in their current residence, are transferred to safe housing.
Today there are survivors in Los Angeles and around the country who remain in violent relationships because homeless policies and disjointed systems across the county do not prioritize or address the need for safe, timely services.
For example, in fiscal year 2024-2025, 78% of requested VAWA emergency transfer requests in Los Angeles were unaddressed, leaving survivors vulnerable to further violence.
While the County contemplates program cuts and priorities, survivors cannot be forgotten. The five-member, all female, LA County Board of Supervisors can also fight fire with fire.
While men in positions of power continue their mudslinging, the board of supervisors can implement policies and build systems that protect and empower survivors; rejecting misogyny, abusers, rapists, and conmen who continue to perpetuate their violence through oppressive policy, ineffective systems, and inaction.
The time is now to support women and survivors in breaking the cycle of violence, poverty, and inequity, and lead the charge in creating solutions that provide hope and opportunity. The decision HSH and the board of supervisors make to prioritize and support survivors will impact future generations. Every policy maker—male or female—must do the work and land on the right side of history.