Homeless people who died in 2021 were 48 years old on average

“Each was someone” and yet. Every year, hundreds of people die on the streets in France. In 2021, the average age of these disappeared was 48, notes a report by the collective “The Dead of the Street” published this Thursday. Thirty years younger than the rest of the population.

According to data collected by this collective, at least 620 people living on the street or in temporary accommodation structures died last year, the majority of whom were men (89%). Forty-eight years is the average age of deceased homeless people (SDF) whose deaths have been recorded by this collective which analyzes this data each year in France.

39% of deaths in the street or the metro

” It is a scandal. And again, many deaths escape our attention, as well as that of the general public and visibly even more that of politicians”, deplores in a press release the collective, which denounces “the absence of means and appropriate responses” to support homeless people.

In 2021, 39% of these deaths occurred in the street or the metro, 30% in a care establishment and 12% in a squat, a car or a building hall. Nearly a third of these homeless people died violently, caused by assault or drowning, for example. Last year, 42% of these 620 recorded deaths occurred in Île-de-France.

Lifting the veil on “a hidden reality”

The collective “The dead of the street” has also recorded 81 deaths of formerly homeless people. “2021 is the year with the highest number of deaths reported” to the collective, specifies the latter. According to “Les Morts de la rue”, this trend should not be “interpreted as an increase in the mortality of homeless people” because the monitoring of mortality carried out by the collective is not exhaustive.

In total, over the last ten years (period during which the group conducted its investigations), 5,508 homeless people died. With these data, the association wants to “make visible a hidden reality”. It recommends ensuring access to housing for vulnerable populations and preventing the loss of housing.

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