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‘Winter Was The Deadliest Season’: Report Shows 137 Homeless Residents Died In Sacramento County In 2020
Chris Nichols
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | Sacramento, CA
Drugs and alcohol, accidents, suicides and exposure to the cold, along with other causes, led to the deaths of 137 homeless people in Sacramento County last year, according to a report published Tuesday.
The Sacramento County Homeless Deaths Report shows total deaths declined by only one in 2020 compared with 2019, but more people died during winter than in past years.
“Historically, homeless deaths were spread out equally among the seasons. But not in 2020. Winter was the deadliest season,” said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition To End Homelessness, which publishes the annual findings. “Thirty-five percent of the deaths occured in winter.”...
...The homeless deaths report also includes demographic details and information on how homeless individuals died.
It showed 59.8% of the homeless people who died in 2020 were White, 18.9% Black, 9.5% Multi-Ethnic; 6.6% Latinx; 2.9% Asian; and 1.5% Native American.
A majority of deaths were accidents or injuries, while only 23.2% died of natural causes.
Most died far earlier than the average life expectancy, which was 77.8 years in the United States in the first half of 2020. The average age of homeless women who died was 48.7 years and 51.5 for homeless men, the report said.
Here is a breakdown of the leading causes of death:
57, or 41.6%, of substance use
31, or 22.6%, of injuries or accidents, including 23 blunt force head injuries, four drownings, three stabbings and two gunshots, among others
22, or 16%, of cardiovascular disease
A smaller share of deaths were attributed to hypothermia, pneumonia, other respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses, heat stroke, diabetes and carbon monoxide.
A majority of deaths, 55.5%, took place outside while 29.2% occurred in a hospital, 6.6% in a vehicle and 4.4% each took place in a friend’s residence or a motel.
Notably, just one homeless person died of COVID-19, Erlenbusch said. Early during the pandemic, state and local governments along with advocacy groups feared the virus could spread rapidly through California’s homeless camps and shelters...
‘Winter Was The Deadliest Season’: Report Shows 137 Homeless Residents Died In Sacramento County In 2020
Chris Nichols
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | Sacramento, CA
Drugs and alcohol, accidents, suicides and exposure to the cold, along with other causes, led to the deaths of 137 homeless people in Sacramento County last year, according to a report published Tuesday.
The Sacramento County Homeless Deaths Report shows total deaths declined by only one in 2020 compared with 2019, but more people died during winter than in past years.
“Historically, homeless deaths were spread out equally among the seasons. But not in 2020. Winter was the deadliest season,” said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition To End Homelessness, which publishes the annual findings. “Thirty-five percent of the deaths occured in winter.”...
...The homeless deaths report also includes demographic details and information on how homeless individuals died.
It showed 59.8% of the homeless people who died in 2020 were White, 18.9% Black, 9.5% Multi-Ethnic; 6.6% Latinx; 2.9% Asian; and 1.5% Native American.
A majority of deaths were accidents or injuries, while only 23.2% died of natural causes.
Most died far earlier than the average life expectancy, which was 77.8 years in the United States in the first half of 2020. The average age of homeless women who died was 48.7 years and 51.5 for homeless men, the report said.
Here is a breakdown of the leading causes of death:
57, or 41.6%, of substance use
31, or 22.6%, of injuries or accidents, including 23 blunt force head injuries, four drownings, three stabbings and two gunshots, among others
22, or 16%, of cardiovascular disease
A smaller share of deaths were attributed to hypothermia, pneumonia, other respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses, heat stroke, diabetes and carbon monoxide.
A majority of deaths, 55.5%, took place outside while 29.2% occurred in a hospital, 6.6% in a vehicle and 4.4% each took place in a friend’s residence or a motel.
Notably, just one homeless person died of COVID-19, Erlenbusch said. Early during the pandemic, state and local governments along with advocacy groups feared the virus could spread rapidly through California’s homeless camps and shelters...