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Our nation is facing a public health crisis in growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness in our country. In the wake of the pandemic and decades of failed social and public policies, homelessness is reaching epic levels across our nation, impacting most severely women, children and families. The National Women’s Shelter Network is taking action. At its Inaugural National Conference in Miami, Florida, in September 2023, the NWSN convened over 220 shelter leaders and other experts from across the country to discuss the intersections of violence and homelessness, trauma-informed best practices and solutions to ending homelessness, and the need for more resources for women, children and families and the shelters that serve them, calling on leaders at all levels of government, business, finance, philanthropy and communities across the nation to address the growing crisis.

The NWSN hosted a national press conference on September 6th, 2023, accompanied by NWSN’s official spokeswoman Gloria Estefan to demand action and met on October 16, 2023, with Federal Officials from DOJ, HUD, HHS, FEMA, DOE, DOL and more, to raise awareness of what is happening every day on the ground in shelters across America. The dialogue between Federal Officials and the NWSN continues. Stay tuned for more!

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NWSN President and Executive Director Constance Collins poses for a photo with singer Gloria Estefan.
NWSN Director Grettel Jiménez-Singer being interviewed by Telemundo.
NWSN President and Executive Director Constance Collins speaking at the podium during a press conference.
Ron Book, Constance Collins, and Gloria Estefan pose for a photo.

NWSN Media Advisory — Call for Action

We are facing a public health crisis in growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness in our country. In the wake of the pandemic and decades of failed social and public policies, homelessness is reaching epic levels across our nation, impacting most severely women, children and families. The women’s shelters and programs gathered today in the National Women’s Shelter Network Inaugural Conference live and breathe this crisis every day, and we are asking for help from our nation’s leaders.

At last count, over 1.2 million women and 2.5 million children experience homelessness in our country every year. At least one in every 30 children will experience homelessness, the majority of whom are under the tender age of 6 years old, in single, female headed households. It may seem inconceivable but homelessness has become normative for the children of our country - in the richest and arguably most powerful nation in the world.




It may seem inconceivable but homelessness has become normative for the children of our country — in the richest and arguably most powerful nation in the world.




Violence is a lead cause of homelessness for women and their children, but there are other important contributing factors, not the least of which is a persistent lack of affordable housing. Rents are still on the rise and most cities are unaffordable based on the most recent data available. Miami has not escaped this crisis - Miami is the 3rd most “severely rent burdened” city in the United States for renters with median incomes, ahead of New York and Los Angeles. A new study from Florida Atlantic University, reported that the average renter in 11 cities around the country, including Miami, must make at least $100,000 to avoid being classified as “rent burdened,” meaning renters are spending more than 30% of their income on rent, leaving that much less for  food, health care, transportation and life’s other necessities. Rents are continuing to rise.