Life Expectancy of Homeless 30 Years Less Than Average Says New Report
Homeless people in England die 30 years younger than the national average, research from Crisis has suggested.
The report
‘Homelessness: A silent killer - A research briefing on mortality amongst homeless people’ found an average homeless person has a life expectancy of 47, compared with 77 for the rest of the population. Drug and alcohol abuse account for a third of all deaths among the homeless.
The Sheffield University report said that while drug and alcohol abuse often lead to homelessness, being without a home exacerbates the problem. While the overall average of death for men and women who were homeless was 47, the mean age of death for women was found to be even lower, at 43.
It was not just people sleeping on the streets who were studied, the wider homeless population which include those who live in night shelters, hostels and who use day centres were also considered.
Researchers found that homeless people are nine times more likely to commit suicide than the rest of the population and deaths as a result of traffic accidents are three times more common.
Crisis' chief executive, Leslie Morphy, said that significant investment in the NHS had not helped homeless people to address their health issues.
She said: "It is shocking, but not surprising, that homeless people are dying much younger than the general population. Life on the streets is harsh and the stress of being homeless is clearly taking its toll."
Read a copy of the report ‘Homelessness: A Silent Killer’