The extreme insecurity of homelessness explains why people without housing die at an alarming rate.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force says “key morbidities” and causes of mortality among people without accommodation include cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, substance abuse and mental health issues.
It is no surprise as homeless people are exposed to vicious antisocial behaviours, rancid personal and sometimes environmental hygiene, harsh atmospheric conditions, poor nutrition and poor healthcare.
Homeless people are stigmatized and physically and sexually abused and exploited. They get spat at, urinated on, cursed, assaulted, raped and/or alienated. While some people are kind to unhoused people, the psychological injuries are long-lasting.
These insufferable conditions result in depression, substance abuse and/or mental illness. In the US, 38% and 26% of homeless people depend on alcohol and other substances respectively and 30% of its chronically homeless population have mental illness. In Egypt, substance abuse is also common among homeless children.
People living in the streets are over nine times more likely to commit suicide than the general population. And, drug and alcohol abuse account for more than a third of all homeless deaths.
Depressed and lacking money and other resources such as stable “en suite” amenities, many hobos pay little attention to good hygiene.
And, whether it’s too cold or too hot, both extremes can cause diseases that can result in death. These include hypothermia and heat stroke respectively. Environmental conditions are a significant independent risk factor for mortality from specific causes, including circulatory or respiratory diseases.
Not to be left out, a lot of homeless people also live with severe health conditions, given they have little or no access to medical care.
So far, the average age of homeless persons and the factors influencing it have been adequately touched on. It is shocking that, in the 21st century, there is still no right to shelter and that a single homeless person who approaches their local government for accommodation can be turned away to sleep on the streets.
The rising rate of homelessness makes it necessary for governments to take curbing the epidemic more seriously. Initiatives should be carried out with the purpose of getting unhoused people out of the streets to normal lives. Homeless people are people too. And, Capitalism is not an excuse to abandon those who have come to a cul de sac.
