A jarring new report finds a sharp and significant increase in unhoused people dying in Los Angeles County — up 70% between just 2019 and 2021, according to county health officials.
That number of deaths marks a new record high and the first time L.A. County has had more than 2,000 people experiencing homelessness die in a single year.
“There’s a tragedy happening in L.A., and it’s happening on a daily basis,” said Will Nicholas, director of the Center for Health Impact Evaluation at the L.A. County Department of Public Health. “This is the first time that we’ve broken the 2,000 mark, so I hope people take notice. Hopefully this is not a new normal.”
One key thing to know: COVID-19 is not the the main issue driving the rise in deaths for those experiencing homelessness, it’s not even in the top three.
By the numbers
Here’s what we know about deaths of unhoused people in recent years, according to statistics released by the L.A. County Department of Public Health:
- 2014: 658
- 2015: 766
- 2016: 884
- 2017: 1,027
- 2018: 1,129
- 2019: 1,289
- 2020: 1,811
- 2021: 2,201
The number of deaths among people experiencing homelessness increased each year and is depicted in the blue bar graph. The all-cause crude mortality rate, which accounts for increases in the total homeless population over that eight-year period, also increased each year and depicted in the pink line graph.
Courtesy of the L.A. County…
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