Crisis responds to the deaths of homeless people in England and Wales in 2018

Today, the ONS has reported that 726 people died while homeless in England and Wales during 2018, a rise of 51% since ONS began recording this data. Responding to the figures Jon Sparkes, Crisis Chief Executive, said: “It is heart-breaking that hundreds of people were forced to spend the last days of their lives without the dignity of a secure home. This is now the second year running where we have known the true scale of the human cost of homelessness, yet still the lessons from these tragic deaths go unlearnt.

“Behind these statistics are human beings, who like all of us had talents and ambitions. They shouldn’t be dying unnoticed and unaccounted for. It’s crucial that Governments urgently expand the safeguarding system used to investigate the deaths of vulnerable adults to include everyone who has died while street homeless, so we can help prevent more people from dying needlessly. Because in this day and age there is no excuse for anyone dying without a safe place to call home.”