Editor’s Note: All of the women quoted asked that their names not be used because they feared their abusive husbands or significant others might be able to locate them. The women in the photographs consented to be photographed.
Homeless women are often described as being invisible because they seem to exist in society’s blind spot of the stereotypical homeless male.
In what amounts to a conservative guesstimate, the nation’s number of homeless reached an all-time high of 653,100 in 2023, a 12 percent increase from the year before. Of that number, approximately 30 percent – 196,000 - are women.
As to Thurston County and Olympia, the latest Point-in-Time census accounted for approximately 860 individuals, of which approximately 325 – or 37 percent - are women. All have basic human needs that must be met – shelter, food and health care.
Some of these women will live through another winter in Olympia in the fog, the rain, the long dark hours, the cold and the occasional snow. Some will seek assistance in shelters; however, many others say that they do not feel safe when going to a shelter and that they are vulnerable to assault and theft of their possessions.
These women will survive under tarps and cardboard in the doorways of downtown businesses, sleep in little areas just off alleys, camp in The Jungle, and a few will shelter with the rats in the 7th Avenue Tunnel.
“There’s no way I will go into any goddamn shelter,” one woman said. “I’d rather be out here on the street.”
When asked if she had used any of the services and shelters in the city, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Nah. I don’t feel safe in the shelters, too many pervs around here. I’ll take my chances here.”
Others have complained about the fact that there are not enough restrooms for them to use, where they could feel safe in using them.
“A clean and safe area to wash up and take care of myself would be nice,” said one older homeless women. “You’d think that the people who want to help would kinda know that.”
One cold morning, I watched a homeless woman dig through a garbage container behind a downtown restaurant looking for food. I have seen another pick her way through a container looking for something warm to wear. When I asked her why, she replied, “Why not?”
Necessity comes to mind as an answer. But why is this?
Many of the women say they are homeless because they have left an abusive relationship or that they did not have enough money to pay rent or even consider buying an affordable house.
One of the major reasons for women becoming homeless is the economic disparity in what they earn in comparison to what men earn. The other reason is that they are victims of domestic abuse.
“I’m here on this corner asking for change because my husband beat the shit out of me on a regular basis,” one homeless woman recently told me. “I can’t afford to rent a place, and I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Numerous nonprofit organizations and county/city agencies in and around Olympia offer varying support and resources. But many women complain that they do not have transportation or are suffering from a mental health issue or find navigating the maze of community resources overwhelming, so simply give up.
“I’m out here because my husband took my daughter away from me … shit, he took everything away from me,” explained a woman who identified as a veteran. “I simply gave up trying to get any help, it’s so confusing. It’s as though no one sees what I’m going through.”
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