MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. — At least 315 homeless people died in 2022 in Multnomah County, according to a new county report.
The Multnomah County Health Department released its annual report on homeless deaths on Wednesday. The county collected data from the Multnomah County medical examiner and from vital statistics; the latter is due to Senate Bill 8503 establishing mandatory reporting of housing status at the time of death.
On average, 26 people died each month — or one person almost every day, a record high. The report noted that deaths of people experiencing homelessness have increased significantly in 2018 through 2022, or 29% per year.
“... the fact that a person dies of homelessness almost every day in Multnomah County is an indictment of something deeper, societal, and national. It is an indictment of the systems and safety nets that break and fray, or never even exist at all, leaving people to end up on our streets,” said Kaia Sand, executive director of Street Roots, in response to the report.
Nearly half of all deaths — 144 people — were accidental or unintentional, with the majority of those from drug overdoses involving methamphetamines, fentanyl or both. Fentanyl contributed to 74% of deaths by overdosing, according to the report.
"Out here we, all fight so hard to make sure overdoses don’t happen," said Dom, who is homeless in Old Town and has friends who have died from life on the streets. "We don’t want to see this happen to each other."
"I was present when somebody did overdose once ... I had to directly save a life, and it was stressful," added Rob Shaggy, who's been homeless on and off for a decade.
Forty-two deaths were due to assault, including homicide or suicide. Both causes of death were increased from last year; the number of deaths from suicide doubled from 2021.
According to the report, 45 of those deaths included from transportation-related incidents, including traffic accidents. The report noted that this is due to many unhoused people living near roads and crossing poorly lit streets.
The average age at death was 49, nearly 30 years younger than the current U.S. life expectancy at birth, the report said. Those who were older — 50 to 59 years — made up the highest proportion of deaths, followed by those who were 25 to 39 years old. Most were white men.
Many of the deaths were concentrated in the downtown Portland area, with the highest numbers recorded in the Pearl District/Old Town, Parkrose, inner Southeast Portland, Goose Hollow, North Portland and Centennial/East Portland. The majority of deaths occurred in winter, mainly in November, where 42 people died.
But overall, "the majority of these deaths were preventable," the report concluded, stressing that unhoused people are disproportionally more in danger and die more than the average Multnomah County resident.
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Peterson expressed the need for change.
“The loss of these lives is beyond humbling, and today, we sit with the full weight of these losses as a County and a community," she said. "Our homelessness response system must become more coordinated and effective to address these issues and reverse these trends. People’s lives depend on it.”
Sand echoed that statement: “We can, and must, keep finding policy fixes. We can, and must, keep fighting for people to stay alive."
The full report can be read below: