People experiencing homelessness may lose decades of life

People experiencing homelessness in King County may die decades earlier than their peers in the broader community.

That's one takeaway from a recent report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office on some of the deaths that have occurred among people living unhoused over the past decade.

The Medical Examiner's office doesn’t investigate all deaths in the county, only those that are unexpected, sudden, violent, suspicious, or where the cause of death is unknown.

Over the past 10 years, the office has investigated 1,429 deaths of people presumed to be homeless.

Most were male and most were premature, according to the report.

“The median age of presumed homeless decedents was 51 compared to the median age of all King County residents who died which was 79,” the report states.

Additionally, as is true in the overall homeless population in the county, Black and Native people were overrepresented in the deaths investigated by the office.

Derrick Belgarde, executive director for the Chief Seattle Club, a homeless service organization, said structural racism and marginalization from systems of care contribute to the disproportionate impacts seen in Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.

“We know our Native American community doesn't trust non-Native systems, doesn't trust going to clinics or getting the care that they need because of the trauma we've endured over years,” Belgarde said.

Along with a need for housing and addressing physical health-care needs of people experiencing homelessness, Belgarde said there’s also a need to address the emotional and mental health needs for that population.

He said culturally appropriate outreach and care are vital to addressing disparities.

When it comes to causes of death, the medical examiner's report shows almost half of the deaths investigated among people presumed to be homeless were classified as accidents, with most due to poisoning or drug overdoses.

Overdoses are also the most common type of accidental death in the broader population investigated by the examiner's office.