Whilst the ONS figures paint a picture of what is happening in England and Wales, the real picture across the United Kingdom is likely to be even grimmer with 166 homelessness deaths already recorded between January and June 2019 throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland. While the Museum of Homelessness has been nodding to a horrific UK statistic of one person dying every 19 hours due to homelessness, the ONS have pressed that this is more likely to be two people per day.
There can be no shying away from these statistics and action must be taken to ensure that more people are not placed in a position where they die whilst homeless. In Northern Ireland, Westminster should seriously consider extending Welfare Mitigation beyond March 2020 as an easy to implement means that will keep people from falling below the breadline, into poverty and onto homelessness. Whilst this is a practical and possible action that will give some breathing space to many NI citizens and the homelessness sector, there are much larger issues that need strategical thinking and response from decision makers at both a local and national level.
For years, Simon Community has funded an alcohol and addiction service because of the inextricable link between homelessness, addiction and death. The ONS figures of drug-related deaths surging by 55% since 2017 is sadly not surprising and something the charity have been witnessing, responding to and educating on. While there has been much more of a change in opinion towards addiction, their use is still being stereotyped as happening to only bad people, a result of poor choices and an act of criminality rather than being viewed as a symptom of an illness.
