Mortality Rates for Minnesota’s Homeless Three Times Higher Than General Population
Quantifying how safe, or unsafe, it is to be unhoused in Minnesota can be a challenging task.
Safety can come in many forms—whether it’s having a place where you’re physically safe, away from harm, or just having easy access to help in case you have a need for emergency assistance.
One indicator we can consider is the mortality rates of those experiencing homelessness, for which we’ve got data to look at from the Minnesota Department of Health, who released findings last spring from research done from 2017 – 2021 (see findings below).
Two important findings include the determination that the rate of death for homeless 20-year-olds in Minnesota is the same as that of 50-year-olds in the general population, and overall that the rate of death for Minnesota’s homeless is three times higher than Minnesota’s general population.
The study also lists several action items the state hopes to pursue to reduce the death rate of persons experiencing homelessness. “As we keep evaluating and developing our programs, we’ll use these action items as guidelines,” explained Molly Jalma, Listening House’s executive director. “We’re excited to see the state develop some plans to help.”
Minnesota Homeless Mortality Report, 2017 -2021
Key findings:
The rate of death is 3 times higher among people who experience homelessness (PEH) in MN than the general population
20-year-olds experiencing homelessness in MN have the same rate of death as 50-year-olds in the general population
Mortality across each racial and ethnic group is higher among PEH than in the general MN population
American Indian PEH have 1.5 times higher rates of death than other PEH and 5 times higher rates of death than the general MN population
Deaths from substance use are 10 times higher among PEH than the general MN population
1 in 10 substance use deaths in MN are among PEH
1 in 3 of all deaths among PEH are caused by substance use, especially opiods including fentanyl