Health Care, Housing Among Key Challenges For Loudoun Women: Report

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — As March marks Women's History Month, a new report from the Loudoun Coalition on Women and Girls shows health care and housing support are among the most commonly identified challenges women face.

The Loudoun Coalition on Women and Girls has done the Voices of Loudoun Women community assessment for four years to identify issues impacting women in the county and guide the nonprofit's programs. The coalition does periodic community assessments and participant surveys in addition to reviewing state and national research.

The most significant change in the coalition's recent community assessments was more surveyed women identifying access to health care, including mental health care, as a challenge. That number was below 20 percent in the spring 2021 survey but approached 40 percent in the winter 2022 and winter 2023 survey.

The coalition also found 5 percent of surveyed women said domestic violence resources are important due to challenges in their households.

More than 10 percent of respondents also identified housing support, workforce connections, and food or nutritional support as challenges in the winter 2023 survey.

"There is growing evidence that women in Loudoun County are falling short of basic needs for themselves and their families. It is incumbent upon all of us to step up, work together and meet those needs,” said Ferri Riar, the Loudoun Coalition on Women and Girl chair. "Our team of enthusiastic volunteers and generous donors are developing the resources and partnerships to help meet basic needs, protect mental health, and provide economic security for the women and girls in our community."

The assessment informs the coalition's initiatives like Girl emPower, a program for young women ages 12 to 18, and Woman emPower, which helps support women's economic sustainability.

In 2023, the coalition launched its Loudoun Women’s Hall of Fame to recognize an inaugural class of eight women in eight areas of impact. These were: Kris Loya (Arts), Kindra Dionne (Business Entrepreneurship), Shreyaa & Esha Venkat (Community Service), Katie Johnson (Education), Sigrid Fry-Revere (Health), Vanessa Grigsby (Leadership), Karen Schaufeld (Philanthropy) and Pastor Michelle C. Thomas (Social Justice).

For more information about the coalition, visit www.lcwag.org.