Homeless populations

Evidence of inequalities

Homelessness is often a late presentation of significant overlapping inequalities that culminate in homelessness.

Homeless people experience poorer physical and mental health than the general population.

  • Homeless children have higher rates of health problems and their development can be damaged.
  • Homeless people have a much higher risk of death from a range of causes than the general population.
  • Common health issues for homeless people include mental ill health, alcohol abuse, drug use and violence.

A health audit of over 2,500 homeless people in England in 2014 found much higher prevalence of physical and mental health issues in the homeless population compared to the general population. The audit found that

  • 45% of homeless people have diagnosed mental health problems compared to 25% of the general population
  • 41% of homeless people have long term physical health problems compared to 28% of the general population.

The Office of National Statistics reports annually on deaths among homeless people nationally, the 2019 report found that:

  • There were an estimated 778 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales registered in 2019, an increase of 7.2% from 2018 when there were 726 estimated deaths. The number of deaths were highest in large urban cities like Birmingham which had 25 deaths in 2019.
  • Almost two in five deaths of homeless people were related to drug poisoning in 2019 (289 estimated deaths; 37.1% of the total number);
  • Suicides among homeless people increased by 30.2% in one year, from 86 estimated deaths in 2018 (11.8% of the total number), to 112 estimated deaths in 2019 (14.4% of the total number).
  • Most of the deaths in 2019 were among men (687 estimated deaths; 88.3% of the total).
  • Among homeless people, the mean age at death was 45.9 years for males and 43.4 years for females in 2019; in the general population of England and Wales, the mean age at death was 76.1 years for men and 80.9 years for women.

There have been several key national reports and toolkits published about homelessness and health. These include:

The Director of Public Health Annual Report 2019 to 2020 ‘Complex Lives, Fulfilling Futures’ highlighted the challenges that adults living with multiple and complex needs (MCN) face and reflected on how we, as a city partnership can inspire action across Birmingham to support all our citizens to thrive.

We are keen to continue to expand our local understanding of the health and wellbeing of homeless people and how to better support them.

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