2019’s death toll is the highest since Domicile Unknown reporting began
In 2019, Multnomah County tallied the highest number of homeless deaths in any year since the grim figure has been tracked. In its annual Domicile Unknown report released today, 113 people were recorded as having died homeless in the county, more than two each week.
This is a marked increase over 2018 figures, which at 92 deaths was also the highest number counted since the reporting began in 2011. The figure is drawn from information collected from the medical examiner’s database, with the deceased thoroughly vetted as to their housing status.
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The report was released at a video press conference this morning with Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, County Deputy Health Director Paul Lewis and Street Roots Executive Director Kaia Sand.
“Housing is health," Lewis said. "And I think this report, unfortunately, for the ninth time in a row, illustrates that.”
Variables in investigating these deaths and database changes may play a role in the fluctuation of the count, the report notes, and not every death of a homeless individual comes to the attention of the medical examiner; therefore, “the numbers should be viewed as an undercount of the unknown true value,” the report states.
One statistic generally consistent each year is the average age of death: 46 for males and 45 for females.
"You don’t need to be a statistician to tell you that’s a short life span," Lewis said. "It’s an extraordinarly low life expectancy."
Most of the deaths were ruled as accidental, and of those, drug or alcohol toxicity were ruled as a cause or contributor to death, the most common being methamphetamine and other amphetamnines, followed by alcohol. Meth, Lewis said, is available in very high concentrations for extremely low prices.
The annual count began as an initiative by Street Roots to better understand the toll taken by people experiencing homelessness with the goal of better addressing the need. Since the first count in 2011, the county has registered 643 deaths among people without a home.
"It really is so clear what’s at stake, that the difference between housing and homelessness is the different between life and death," Sand said.
The report's release coincides with the winter solstice, traditionally the longest night of the year, and designated as National Homeless Person's Memorial Day.
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