The average age of death was 49, according to the annual Domicile Unknown report
Trauma, addiction, chronic health conditions and more claimed the lives of 80 people experiencing homelessness in Multomah County last year, according to the county’s just-released Domicile Unknown report for 2016.
That’s a slight decrease from 88 in 2015, but still higher than the previous four years. The countywide database was initiated in 2011, and since then, 359 people have died homeless in the county.
There is very limited demographic information about each of the deaths, but of those who died, 63 were men and 17 were women. The average age of death was 49.
“People in vulnerable situations die young, and from often preventable causes,” said the report’s co-author Paul Lewis, health officer for Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. “And you can’t help but conclude that the lack of shelter contributed to both those problems.”
The count only captures those people whose deaths were investigated by the county medical examiner’s office and, after much research, established as homeless.
The report documents the first full year after the city of Portland declared a homeless emergency in October 2015. It was a year of accelerated efforts by the city and county’s Joint Office of Homeless Services, which works in tandem with the region’s anti-homelessness initiative, A Home For Everyone. Last year, the region added 650 year-round shelter beds and made requirements more flexible for people with partners, pets and shift work. This year, the city and county have put $54 million into the joint office for homeless and housing programs.
The report's authors are calling for more support from the Oregon State Legislature for housing stability, and for more options to reduce the harm of injection drug use.
This year’s one-night Point in Time homeless count for Multnomah County tallied nearly 4,200 people living on the streets or in tents, cars, transitional housing or temporary shelter. That’s an increase over the previous 2015 total of 3,800, however, the total number of people documented as “unsheltered” actually declined over the 2015 report, to 1,668.
“Living on the street is traumatic. People face preventable violence, overdose, cold exposure and illnesses that kill them decades ahead of their time,’’ said Israel Bayer, the former executive director of Street Roots who worked with the county to develop the report. “This is not normal and not acceptable.’’
