An Overview
Los Angeles House of Ruth (LAHR) was founded in 1978 to serve homeless women and children, providing all services free of charge. Many women leave their abuser when they realize their children are also in danger, essentially choosing homelessness over abuse. LAHR provides these brave women and their children a safe and secure place to heal.
Our Mission
It is the mission of the Los Angeles House of Ruth (LAHR) to provide temporary and bridge housing for homeless families; 80% of whom are victims of domestic violence. It is the commitment of the LAHR community to provide a caring and supportive environment. We strive to empower the families that we serve to move from dependency and abuse to independence and successful futures. The only requirement to enter our program is homelessness and all our services are provided completely free of charge.
Who We Serve
LAHR serves pregnant women, single mothers with children, mothers and fathers who have no recent employment history, and families who are not eligible for emergency human services. Our clients also include women who have been employed and have left their employment to escape abuse, and women who have suffered from medical or other emergencies and lost their housing because they didn’t have the funds to cover these emergencies. Los Angeles House of Ruth provides these despairing women and their children with a safe and secure place to heal.
One hundred percent of our service population lives below the federal poverty level and many times LAHR is their last hope.
The average age of the woman we serve is 26 years old and the average number of children in the families we serve is 2.5. Although the only criteria we require of women in order to attain our services is that they currently are homeless, the vast majority of the women aided have been the victims of domestic and/or sexual violence, and 97% of our clients are women of color. Approximately 76% of those served each year are Latino, 21% are African-American, and 3% are Caucasian.
Our History
Los Angeles House of Ruth was founded in 1978 to serve homeless women and children. In that time, we have grown from a four-bed transitional shelter to four houses with 80 beds, serving more than 180 individuals each year.
We support our mission by ensuring the well-being of our clients while they are in our care, helping them achieve freedom and control over their lives, and providing hope for the future for themselves and their children. We believe that when homeless individuals, especially victims of domestic violence, receive the services they need in a timely and engaging manner they can overcome obstacles to self-sufficiency.