Street roots
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May 10, 2013
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PHO TO BY ROBERT BRITT
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experienced, homelessness last year whose final
The second annual report on homeless deaths shines a light on the toll taken by the streets
“Things are just getting worse and worse. .
No way to get back on my feet, ”
— "Working" Kirk Reeves
But the figure is still just a snapshot, a
subeategory of mortality among the
thousands of people who experience
homelessness every night in Multnomah
County, and the estimated 16,000 who will
BY JOANNE ZUHL
STAFF WRITER
experience a period of homelessness here
in the course of a given year.
e was one of a kind — the man in the
“It’s a reflection on us as a community on
white tuxedo and Mickey Mouse
how we value people’s lives,” says
ears, playing his trumpet from a
corner perch on the Hawthorne Bridge. Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah
Kafoury, who along with Street Roots
But on Nov. 6, “Working” Kirk Reeves
became one in a list of Multnomah County’s
spearheaded the report. “Just because
“domicile unknowns.”
someone is sick, or has a mental illness, or
In its second annual report on homeless
a drug addiction, that doesn’t mean they’re
deaths released May 10, Multnomah County any less of a person. The fact is that each
announced there were 56 such deaths in the one of these deaths was preventable. It’s
2012, more than one a week, according to
incumbent upon us to do something about
that.”
the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s
Office. Ten of them, like Reeves, took their
“Domicile Unknown” has been a joint
own lives.
project between Multnomah County and
Street Roots. Executive Director Israel
Last fall, Reeves wrote publicly about his
struggles with homelessness and
Bayer says one of the reasons Street Roots
found it important to advocate for and
depression, as well as his hopes in the few
weeks before he took his own life. But
coauthor this report was to understand the
whereas Reeves was a local celebrity so
real implications experiencing homelessness
has on a person’s health.
many others on the list perished in social
anonymity.
“Fifty-six people died homeless on the
streets last year, many of whom died
The title of the Medical Examiner’s, .
“Domicile Unknown,” refers to the category
absolutely horrible deaths, by burning to
on death records added in December 2010.
death, drowning, suicide, etcetera,” Bayer
The figures begin to giye a picture of how
says. “It’s up to the entire community to do
many people experiencing homelessness die better.”
on the streets. The number is up compared
to 2011, when 47 deaths were recorded.
H
he deaths were classified as natural,
accident, suicide, homicide or
undetermined. The most common cause of
accidental death is from trauma and
intoxication. The trauma cases included
drowning, burns and hypothermia. Among
the cases of intoxications, Heroin was the
most common substance that caused death,
followed by alcohol, methamphetamine,
cocaine and oxycodone. Here are a few
more details on the numbers:
B The ages of those who died were
between 21 and 72, with the average age of
death being 45. The average life expectancy
in Multnomah County is 71.
■ The majority, 48 out of the 56, were
male.
■ 30 of the deaths were categorized as
accidental, including trauma and
intoxications.
■ 14 of the deaths were categorized as
natural, including complications from
alcohol use and health conditions.
“What stands out is the preventable
nature of the majority of the deaths,” said
Paul Lewis, deputy health officer for
Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington
counties. “That, and the young age. 45 is
too young.”
Lewis worked with the Medical
Examiner’s office in compiling the figures
and determining who met the definition of
S
See D EA TH S page 5