6 Unhoused People In LA Died On Average Each Day In 2022 — A Record High

A record 2,374 people experiencing homelessness died in Los Angeles County in 2022, and many of those deaths were the result of drug and alcohol overdoses, according to a new report from public health authorities.

That’s about six unhoused people dying each day.

“There are staggering inequities in health outcomes between those who are housed and those who are homeless,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A .County Department of Health, during a news conference Thursday morning. 

For the second year in a row, L.A. County has had more than 2,200 people on the streets die in a single year, according to a report released Thursday by the Department of Public Health. While the number of deaths increased, the overall mortality rate rose only slightly when compared to 2021. That’s because the total numbers of unhoused people in the county has continued to rise substantially.

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County health authorities said efforts to make naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, readily available to people who may need it are working.

They also pointed to a sharp downturn in deaths caused by COVID-19.

Will Nicholas, director of the county’s Center for Health Impact Evaluation, said compiling data on deaths within the population of unhoused people over five years has led to more prevention efforts.

“What gets counted is what gets paid attention to,” he said in an interview. “It’s led to some concerted efforts to mitigate the problem.”

The report relied on data from the 2022 homeless count and from the county medical examiner’s office, which investigates non-natural deaths, such as overdoses, homicides and suicides. It does not include deaths of people who were formerly homeless, and are now in permanent supportive housing.

How the deaths compare to overall mortality

Between 2014 and 2022, the total homeless population in the county increased by about 70%, and the mortality rate doubled, according to the report.

People experiencing homelessness in 2022 were almost four times more likely to die of any cause than the L.A. County population as a whole. Also that year, unhoused people were more than 40 times more likely to die from an overdose and about 18 times more likely to die of both homicide and traffic related injuries compared to all L.A. County residents.

The mortality rate among people experiencing homelessness went from 3,215 per 100,000 in 2021 to 3,282 per 100,000 people in 2022, according to the county report. That’s a 2% increase.

It’s a welcome change from previous years, when the mortality rate increased a staggering 56% from 2019 to 2021, Nicholas said.

“But one year isn’t a trend,” he cautioned.

To explain the plateauing mortality rate, the report points to the efforts of nonprofit organizations and county health initiatives to distribute naloxone — also known by the brand name Narcan — a nasal spray that is available for free at county libraries, in shelters and jails.

“Not that overdoses have decreased, but the fatalities for overdoses have decreased because of the significant investment in harm reduction and overdose prevention,” Veronica Lewis, director of the Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System, said at the news conference.

Deadly illicit drugs

For a sixth year in a row, drug and alcohol overdose continued to be the leading cause of death among unhoused people, accounting for 37% of all deaths in 2022, according to the county report. That’s about two deaths per day.

Fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid, and the highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine were most often cited as contributing factors in those deaths, with the latter being most common. In 2022, 72% of fentanyl deaths among people experiencing homelessness also involved methamphetamine, and two thirds of all overdose deaths involved more than one drug.

Other causes of death

Heart disease was the second leading cause of death — 12% — in 2022 among people experiencing homelessness, according to the county report. It was the leading cause of death among people 70 and older and the second leading cause of death among men (drug overdoses were the leading cause). The third leading cause of death was traffic injuries, county authorities said. Traffic deaths, which had been increasing steadily since 2014, accounted for 8% of all deaths of people experiencing homelessness in 2021 and 2022 combined — about one death every other day.

The homicide rate increased again, at a rate of 214 per 100,000 people in 2022, the highest rate since these trends have been monitored since 2014. Homicides were the fourth leading cause of death among people experiencing homelessness —almost three deaths per week on average.

In 2021 and 2022, two thirds of homicide deaths involved firearms.

The report calls for greater access to naloxone, as well as more temporary and permanent housing for people living on the streets. It recommends supportive housing options where people do not lose housing because of substance use.

“You can't really treat somebody's mental, physical, or behavioral health issues until they have a home,” Nicholas said.

LAist's Robert Garrova contributed to this report.