BATON ROUGE, La. ( Louisiana Illuminator ) - Louisiana domestic violence shelters doubled the number of beds available for emergency housing in recent years with millions in state funding.

The shelters went from offering 335 beds statewide in 2021 to 663 beds in 2025. Louisiana governors and legislators gave an additional $7 million per year , starting July 1, 2023, and continuing through June 30, 2026, which allowed for the expansion, said Mariah Stidham Wineski, executive director for the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Louisiana shelters typically turn down approximately 2,500 requests for emergency housing annually. But over the past 12 months, they have been able to meet more of the demand, only turning down 1,300 requests.

“That investment did completely ch

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