Miley Cyrus backs LA housing with $1m gift and youth campus role
The Miley Cyrus Foundation has donated $1 million to help fund a new housing development in Skid Row in Los Angeles.
The gift to the Downtown Women's Center was confirmed around the centre's 2026 Every Woman Housed Gala, where Cyrus and her mother Tish Cyrus-Purcell were honoured for their work through the foundation, Billboard reported.
The gala took place at Vibiana in Los Angeles on October 10, 2026. The award was presented to the pair by Adelene Betha, a senior peer support specialist at the Downtown Women's Center.
The night raised more than money for one project. The total topped $2.1 million. Cyrus gave the figure in a video posted on October 11, in a video posted by Cyrus. The centre said support for the gala uplifts Cyrus's partnership to expand housing, wellness and community programmes.
Three days earlier, a second Los Angeles project moved forward. On October 7, My Friend's Place unveiled plans for a new campus for young people experiencing homelessness and named Cyrus as Honorary Chair.
That role continues a link that began on live television. At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, Cyrus won video of the year for "Wrecking Ball" and sent 22-year-old Jesse Helt, who had formerly been homeless, onstage to accept it. Helt asked viewers to go to Cyrus's Facebook page to donate to My Friend's Place.
Cyrus launched the Happy Hippie Foundation after that appearance. It is now part of the Miley Cyrus Foundation. She has continued to support My Friend's Place and has also supported the Downtown Women's Center since 2024.
My Friend's Place serves young people aged 12 through 24 affected by homelessness. The organisation reports that nearly 4,000 young people in LA County are without a safe place to call home each day, My Friend's Place states.
Its work includes a Safe Haven programme offering food, clothing, showers, phone and internet access and a safe place to rest, alongside education, employment, shelter and health support. The organisation says it has provided care in its current space for 25 years and is building a new home. Heather Carmichael is its executive director.
The Downtown Women's Center reported serving 4,499 women and survivors of violence experiencing homelessness, Downtown Women's Center states.
What makes this stand out is the length of the thread. A 90-second awards speech in 2014 pointed to a community centre. Twelve years on, that connection is attached to a planned youth campus and a $1 million housing gift.
