Miley Cyrus has donated $1 million to support a new housing project in Los Angeles aimed at helping women experiencing homelessness find a safe and permanent place to live. The contribution, made through the Miley Cyrus Foundation, will support Rosa’s Place, a housing development being built by the Downtown Women’s Center in the city’s Skid Row neighbourhood. The initiative aims to provide women, including survivors of violence, with stable accommodation and access to essential services as they work towards rebuilding their lives.
Rosa’s Place is planned to provide 97 permanent apartments for women who have experienced homelessness, including those leaving situations involving violence. The project forms part of the Downtown Women’s Center’s broader efforts to expand access to safe housing and support for vulnerable women in Los Angeles. Cyrus’s donation was announced on October 10, 2026, at the organisation’s Every Woman Housed Gala, where the singer and her mother, Tish Cyrus-Purcell, were recognised for their philanthropic contributions. The event also underscored the importance of creating long-term housing solutions for women who need security and support.
The development is being designed to offer residents more than a place to stay. It will include shared community spaces, a learning centre, a courtyard and a wellness area for mothers. These facilities are intended to create a welcoming environment where residents can feel safe and connected to a community. The project will also offer on-site support services through the Downtown Women’s Center, including case management, health services and job-readiness programmes. These resources are intended to help women address their individual needs and work towards greater stability and independence. Cyrus and her mother are also expected to contribute to the interiors of the development, helping shape spaces where women can feel comfortable as they begin a new chapter in their lives.
The donation builds on Cyrus’s philanthropic work, which gained wider attention in 2014 at the MTV Video Music Awards. After winning Video of the Year for her song “Wrecking Ball”, the singer invited Jesse Helt, a young man who had experienced homelessness, to accept the award on her behalf. The moment helped draw attention to youth homelessness and encouraged donations to My Friend’s Place, a Los Angeles-based organisation supporting young people experiencing homelessness. Later that year, Cyrus launched the Happy Hippie Foundation to support homeless youth, LGBTQ+ young people and other vulnerable communities. The initiative is now part of the Miley Cyrus Foundation. Over the years, the singer has continued supporting organisations working to address homelessness and improve access to essential resources.
What stands out about this contribution is the specificity of its design. Permanent supportive housing, the model behind Rosa’s Place, pairs long-term accommodation with on-site services rather than treating shelter as a temporary fix. That approach reflects a broader shift in how cities and nonprofits address homelessness, moving away from emergency response alone toward models that acknowledge the layered needs of people rebuilding after violence, displacement or prolonged instability. The facilities planned for the development, from the learning centre to the wellness area for mothers, suggest an understanding that housing works best when it is accompanied by the conditions for a dignified daily life.
The Skid Row location carries its own weight. The neighbourhood has long been associated with the most visible forms of homelessness in Los Angeles, and projects built there attract particular scrutiny. A development that offers permanent apartments and on-site support rather than transient shelter represents a meaningful intervention, but it also raises familiar questions about scale. Ninety-seven units will change lives for the women who secure them, yet the need in the city is far larger. The involvement of Cyrus and her mother in shaping the interiors adds a personal dimension that goes beyond the financial contribution, signalling a sustained commitment rather than a single headline gesture. Whether this project becomes a model that others replicate or remains an exception will depend on funding, policy and public will. For now, it offers something concrete in a debate that too often produces only rhetoric.
