National Network to End Domestic Violence Publishes Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report 

By Ella Izenour, NLIHC Opportunity Starts at Home Intern  

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), a member of the Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) Steering Committee, published its 20th Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report, which summarizes data collected during the NNEDV’s Domestic Violence Counts Survey. The survey is a one-day, unduplicated count of adults and children seeking domestic violence services in the United States. Data were collected from 1,707 programs, representing 85% of identified domestic violence programs nationwide. During the 24-hour data collection period, participating programs served 84,146 victims but were unable to meet 13,018 requests for help. The report identifies a lack of affordable housing and insufficient funding for emergency shelters as major barriers to recovery for survivors of domestic violence.   

The report finds that of the 84,146 victims served, 53,590 adults and children were provided with refuge in emergency shelters, transitional housing, hotels, motels, or other program-supported housing. Notably, 58% of the 13,018 unmet requests for help were for housing-related needs, including emergency shelter, hotels, motels, and transitional housing. Access to a safe and stable place to stay is often a survivor’s most immediate need. However, barriers including high housing costs, years-long waitlists, and damaged housing histories resulting from abuse limit survivors’ ability to secure and maintain stable housing. The report emphasizes the importance of addressing these challenges through intentional partnerships and sustained investment at the federal, Tribal, state, territorial, and local levels.  

The report also includes stories from advocates and survivors, highlighting both the critical importance of stable housing and the long-term challenges survivors face. One advocate in Hawai’i described how the ongoing housing and cost-of-living crisis has increased the need for long-term support that many programs struggle to provide, stating that “with limited transitional housing units and reduced funding, survivors are often forced to choose between returning to unsafe situations or homelessness. This frequently means the stability they worked so hard to achieve while in shelter can quickly deteriorate.” These accounts demonstrate how systemic housing challenges can undermine survivors’ progress and long-term safety.  

Read the report here.   

To learn more about the intersection of housing and domestic violence, read the OSAH fact sheet here.