If you think being the victim of intimate-partner or family violence is a raw deal, how about being forced into homelessness because of it? Property owners and landlords can evict people and force them into homelessness because they perceive the abuse as a threat to the quality of life and safety of their communities.

Intimate-partner and family violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children, and housing discrimination only increases the numbers. 

However, survivors gained federal support through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which protects them from many things, including housing discrimination. Landlords cannot evict them or preclude them from housing based on their current situation or history of abuse. Yet, because VAWA is federal legislation, jurisdiction only includes federal housing programs. Protection for those seeking or living in private rentals is nearly non-existent.

Also, immigrants without green cards are not eligible for federal housing. Domestic violence shelters are limited, and, evidently, opportunities for safe and permanent housing are even more sparse. So, many women must choose homelessness or stay in an abusive relationship. Some hesitate calling for help for fear of eviction, and some are forced into homelessness, anyway.

VAWA will expire in 2011 — unless our elected officials extend it. Tell your state representatives that they must preserve current VAWA protections and make immigrants without green cards eligible for federally-funded housing programs, just as they are eligible for cash assistance and other public benefits.

Fair housing laws are critical not only because survivors of abuse are at risk of homelessness, but because without them, they are also at risk of serious injury and death.