The number of homeless people dying in Alameda County is increasing at an alarming rate, and for the first time, officials are tracking, analyzing and hoping to learn from those lives lost.
More than 800 unhoused people died in Alameda County between 2018 and 2020, according to the county’s first “homeless mortality report,” which was released this week. In an effort to reduce preventable deaths, the county plans to follow its initial effort with regular updated reports, and to create a new “community homeless mortality task force.”
“While the numbers are shocking, this data will help to better inform the county as to what we can do to lessen homeless mortality and provide more supportive housing options and more accessible health care for our unhoused residents,” Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson wrote in an emailed statement.
Deaths in homeless communities spiked throughout the Bay Area during the COVID-19 pandemic — a trend experts say is not tied directly to the virus, but instead is because unhoused populations are getting older and sicker, drug use is soaring, and the pandemic made it harder for people to access health care and other services. And the overall number of people on the streets is rising.
In San Francisco, the number of unhoused deaths doubled during the pandemic — 331 people died between March 2020 and March 2021, primarily due to drug overdoses, according to UCSF. Activists in Santa Clara County reported 250 deaths in the county’s unhoused community between December 2020 and November 2021.
But data on homeless deaths is difficult to track, as death certificates are not required to list housing status, and reporting in the Bay Area is sporadic.
The Alameda County report analyzed data from the county coroner’s office, the county’s homeless services programs, the state and media reports in an effort to make sure no deaths fell through the cracks. Data for 2021 was not included.
The number of annual deaths increased by nearly 89% between 2018 and 2020, according to the report.
Alameda County estimates about 9,100 people were homeless in the county during the scope of the report.
Half of the 809 deaths in Alameda County between 2018 and 2020 were due to acute or chronic diseases such as heart disease, liver disease and cancer, according to the report. Another 28% were caused by substance abuse and overdoses, 10% were caused by accidental injuries, 7% were homicides and 4% were suicides.
The data underscores how drastically life on the streets compromises someone’s health. While the average Alameda County resident lives until age 75, the average unhoused person in the county dies at 52.
“Those of us who do this work know and have always known that homelessness is incredibly deadly,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, professor of medicine and director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. “It’s simply impossible to keep healthy and safe when you’re homeless.”
Overdose was the leading single cause of death in the county’s homeless population. While just 35 unhoused people died of an overdose in 2018, that number more than doubled to 95 by 2020.
The report also highlights the dangers of living without housing — 82 people died in accidents between 2018 and 2020, including 33 people who were hit by vehicles while walking or bicycling, 12 who were struck by trains, five who drowned, three who succumbed to hypothermia and two who died of carbon monoxide poisoning while in a tent or car.
Unhoused people in Alameda County are nearly 45 times more likely to be hit by a car while walking or biking than the general population, 104 times more likely to be hit by a train, and nearly eight times more likely to die by other accidental injuries, according to the report.
Of those who lost their lives while homeless, 141 people died on the street or sidewalk, while 359 died in a hospital or nursing facility, and 32 died in a shelter.
COVID-19 did not have a major direct impact on the homeless community, with just six deaths from the virus reported in 2020.
Report a death
If you know of an unhoused person who has died in Alameda County, you can report it here: https://www.achch.org/alameda-county-homeless-mortality.html
Source: www.mercurynews.com