Homeless Die 30 Years Before National Average

Homeless people can expect to die 30 years before the average person, new research has found.

A study showed that homeless men are dying at an average of 47 years old and homeless women at 43 years old.

This is in stark contrast to the average age of death for the general population at 77 years.

The research, carried out by Sheffield University on behalf of homelessness charity Crisis , found that drug and alcohol abuse counts for just over a third of all deaths among homeless people.

Suicide is also nine times more likely among people living rough than the general population.

Meanwhile it found that deaths as a result of traffic accidents are three times as likely, infections twice as likely and falls are more than three times as likely to result in death.

Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis, said: "It is shocking, but not surprising, that homeless people are dying much younger than the general population.

"Life on the streets is harsh and the stress of being homeless is clearly taking its toll.

"Ultimately, it shows that homelessness is killing people."

The research by Dr Bethan Thomas at the University of Sheffield estimates the average age of death not just for rough sleepers, but for the wider homeless population including those who reside in night shelters, homeless hostels and use day centres.

Meanwhile Shelter has said almost 70,000 children will wake up on Christmas Day in temporary accommodation, without a home to call their own.

The housing and homeless charity highlighted Government figures showing there are 69,846 children in England living in temporary accommodation such as hostels, bed and breakfasts and refuges.

Many of these families will be forced to move repeatedly over the coming months and in some cases may have to wait years before they are able to find a permanent place to live, a spokeswoman said.

She added: "It's a shocking fact that every two minutes someone in Britain faces losing their home.

"All it takes is one small thing like illness or job loss to push families into a spiral of debt and homelessness."