Homeless deaths in England and Wales rose for a fifth year in 2019 and were the highest on record since the data series began in 2013.

Office for National Statistics figures showed an estimated 778 deaths of homeless people were registered in England and Wales last year – a 7.2 percent increase from 2018, when 726 homeless people died. Exact numbers, however, are likely to be higher, as homelessness deaths can be a challenge to measure precisely. 

The ONS statistics also detail how almost two in five homeless deaths were drug-related in 2019, equivalent to 37 percent of deaths. The rate of suicides among homeless people also rose from 86 in 2018 to 112 in 2019, equivalent to 14 percent of the total number of deaths. 

Homeless people are dying decades younger than the national average, the figures show. The mean age of death among homeless people was 45.9 years for men, and 43.4 years for women, compared to the mean age in England and Wales of 76.1 years for men and 80.9 years for women. The majority of homeless deaths in 2019 were men. 

These stark figures come at a time of increased risks facing homeless people during the coronavirus pandemic. In March, the government introduced emergency measures to provide shelter for homeless people across the country, until this scheme was quietly ended in May. Despite alleged support from the government, a recent Huffington Post investigation found that those living in temporary accommodation had skyrocketed as a result of coronavirus.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “No one should die on the streets or in a temporary bed in a hostel. It is awful to think so many people spent their final moments without a safe home in 2019.”

“These figures show how incredibly dangerous homelessness and especially rough sleeping can be, even before we had a deadly pandemic to deal with,” she added. “These are not just statistics, they are real people who have tragically lost their lives during a nationwide housing emergency.” 

Other charities condemned the statistics as unacceptable in one of the richest countries in the world. “It is deeply troubling to see this latest increase in an already shameful statistic,” Paul Noblet, head of public affairs at Centrepoint, said. “In 21st century Britain, it is simply unacceptable that people are dying on our streets because they have no home and too often no hope.”

“The pandemic has exposed how little funding has been left in place after a decade of cuts for charities and local councils to support rough sleepers, including thousands of 16 to 25 year-olds,” he added. “What is even more troubling is that the impact of COVID-19 may well mean that the figures for 2020 are even worse. The government have rightly put more money into tackling rough sleeping this year, but these figures show that even more funding is needed over the long-term to get this national tragedy under control.”