The recently released 2017 homeless count combined with academic research has convinced San Bernardino County to become the first county in the United States to treat unaccompanied homeless women as a special population — a focus that homelessness experts expect will dramatically decrease the number living on the streets.
Research looking specifically at unaccompanied homeless women is scarce, said Sofia Herrera, Ph.D, director of the Office for Urban Initiatives at Fuller Theological Seminary. She’s part of a group called 1 in 4 National Advocacy — named for the fact that about 25 percent of homeless people are unaccompanied women — that’s held two conventions on the subject, but no county has yet designated them as a special population, she said.
“San Bernardino County is a pioneer in this,” Herrera said. “Whatever we learn in San Bernardino County, we’re going to be able to share, and San Bernardino County sits at the table.”
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