By Gabby McIntyre
Out of all domestic violence victims, 38% of them end up homeless at least once in their lifetime (American Bar Association, n.d.). This large correlation between homelessness and domestic violence becomes even more concerning when paired with the fact that around 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men over the age of 18 in the United States experience intimate partner violence (National Domestic Violence Hotline, n.d.). Many Americans associate homelessness with domestic violence, but often misunderstand the purpose of having a distinction between their respective shelters. Both types of shelters are seen as necessary to ensure the safety of people, but many nuances as to how each shelter is run, what resources they provide, and what challenges they face often go overlooked. Beyond the people shelters serve, there are many similarities and differences between the types of transitional housing.
The main reasons domestic violence victims end up unhoused are “economic dependency” on another person, lack of affordable housing, and lack of support (Connections for Abused Women and Their Children, n.d.). Domestic violence shelters work to help negate these issues victims face, specifically for people who are seeking refuge from, typically emergency, situations of domestic violence. Whereas a homeless shelter serves people from all situations (Kippert, 2026). Shelters are a form of transitional housing, meaning they are meant to provide “stability and support” to people so they can “successfully move to and maintain permanent housing” (HUD Exchange, n.d.). The way a shelter provides “stability and support” varies by type. Many homeless shelters provide day-to-day or short-term housing, often requiring residents to leave during the day unless it is a “day shelter.” On the other hand, domestic violence shelters allow residents to stay for long periods of time as well as during the day. Additionally, domestic violence shelters often have more security measures in place for victims to be protected from their abusers. These measures may include a non-public shelter address, a guarded community, individual continuous housing units, and non-co-ed housing, as it may be triggering for victims. Both transitional housing types provide resources and housing to their users. Domestic violence shelters tend to provide more resources curated to domestic violence scenarios, such as crisis counseling, legal aid, as well as childcare in addition to basic needs. Homeless shelters may offer broader assistance such as food and clothing, but shelters often offer aid in finding permanent housing. Additionally, it is important to remember that resources and programs provided may vary depending on the area and organization. Depending on how the shelter is run and what is available, the line between what is offered where may vary (Kippert, 2026).
The National Homeless Information Project (n.d.) reports that there are 50,562 beds in domestic violence shelters nationwide, but this number is likely to vary due to shelters not reporting information to keep their inhabitants safe. For homeless shelters, an estimated total of 1,190,565 beds were reported by the Annual Homeless Assessment Report in 2024 (de Sousa & Henry, 2024). The discrepancy in the number of beds available is one major difference between homeless and domestic violence shelters. All types of shelters are experiencing a lack of housing and resources for the United States’ rapidly growing unhoused and shelter-seeking population (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2025). The unfortunate side effect this has on shelters is that entry into these institutions becomes more difficult. For domestic violence shelters specifically, when there are fewer spaces for victims to go, shelters have to be more particular as to who is let into the shelter based on the severity of a situation rather than accepting all who need help. This leaves many with nowhere to go (Kippert, 2026). This large gap in available beds for violence victims likely devolves to a lack of funding provided for such programs. In L. A County, the average homeless shelter bed is funded at $80 a night, whereas a bed for gender based violence is only funded around $40 (Barahona, 2025). Both types of shelters are historically underfunded, and with less funding, it makes it difficult for shelters to run and become established. With that said, domestic violence shelters are more severely underfunded, especially considering the amount of resources and programs they tend to offer.
The funding, running, and founding of homeless and domestic violence shelters are integral to aiding people in difficult situations to start anew. Both shelters serve their target communities with the resources most needed by those communities. Though many unhoused people have experienced domestic assault, there is still a need for the separation of shelters to ensure resources are allocated properly to the people who need them the most and to ensure as little trauma as possible. Domestic violence and homeless shelters are similar but different for good and bad reasons, but in the end, they help people.
References:
American Bar Association. (n.d.). Five facts about domestic & sexual violence and homelessness.https://www.americanbar.org/groups/domestic_violence/Initiatives/five-for-five/five-facts-homelessness/
Barahona, M. (2025, March 27). The funding crisis for domestic violence shelters in LA and the entire country. The Opinion Pages. https://theopinionpages.com/2025/03/the-funding-crisis-for-domestic-violence-shelters-in-la-and-the-entire-country/
Connections for Abused Women and Their Children. (n.d.). Understanding domestic violence and homelessness.https://www.cawc.org/news/understanding-domestic-violence-and-homelessness/
de Sousa, T., & Henry, M. (2024). The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress: Part 1: Point-in-time estimates of homelessness. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2024-AHAR-Part-1.pdf
Kippert, A. (2026, July 1). What’s the difference between a homeless shelter and a domestic violence shelter?DomesticShelters.org. https://www.domesticshelters.org/articles/housing/what-s-the-difference-between-a-homeless-shelter-and-a-domestic-violence-shelter
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2025). State of homelessness: 2025 edition. https://endhomelessness.org/state-of-homelessness/
National Domestic Violence Hotline. (n.d.). Domestic violence statistics.https://www.thehotline.org/stakeholders/domestic-violence-statistics/
National Homeless Information Project. (n.d.). Domestic violence beds within continuum HICs 2015.https://www.nhipdata.org/local/upload/file/Domestic%20Violence%20Beds%202015%20-FINAL(2).pdf
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.). Transitional housing. HUD Exchange. https://www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/coc-esg-virtual-binders/coc-program-components/transitional-housing/