The information revealing that 40 individuals without homes lost their lives in Dublin within the first ten months of the current year may have warranted a prime spot on this week’s newspaper, but this tragic news largely went unnoticed. The indifference, naturally, stems from the difficulty in emotionally resonating with mere numbers, regardless of how distressing. We emotionally attach ourselves to human narratives that make the individuals tangible to us.
This week’s indifferent reaction to the data provided by Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) is in stark contrast to the heartfelt condolences shared when Ann Delaney, a 47-year-old mother and nurse from County Laois, was found dead near a Tesco supermarket on Aungier Street. Similar expressions of sympathy were made for the untimely demise of Donal Scanlon, a 49-year-old from County Kerry, and Alex Warnick, a 42-year-old originally from the US, after their bodies were found in the Grand Canal in July.
Presumably, these unfortunate deaths are included in the recent DRHE statistics. As for the remaining individuals, we may not be privy to their names, but we can deduce a lot about their circumstances from the 2020 data released in January.
As per these figures, it’s highly likely that they were younger than 45 years old. A staggering two-thirds of the homeless population doesn’t reach this age, while 81% of the rest of the population survives till 65 years or above. Alarmingly, there was a roughly 20% probability that they succumbed while sleeping on the streets, with this likelihood being even higher for men. If they didn’t breathe their last on a pavement, they likely passed away in a temporary shelter, the grim final place for two-thirds of those living on the streets.
Drawing from these revelations, we know that two-thirds of the 40 deceased in Dublin were likely to be single, separated, or divorced. There’s a likelihood that one-fifth of them left behind children. Further, 15% of them had previously been incarcerated.
Factors regarding substance abuse indicate that 90 per cent of them had a past intertwined with substance misuse issues. Of these individuals, almost half (45 per cent) developed an alcohol addiction. Among men, half had alcohol addiction while a third of women suffered from the same issue.
When it comes to drug usage, heroin emerged as the leading choice, with 61 per cent of drug users preferring it. Cocaine was the second drug of choice for 55.6 per cent of users, while benzodiazepines, including Xanax and Valium, were preferred by a third of users (35.6 per cent).
One in four individuals from this demographic had a history of injecting drugs. A significant portion, nearly half, would have sought some form of substance abuse treatment, likely via methadone substitution. At the time of their demise, one fifth of them might have been undergoing methadone therapy. The cause of death for one fourth of them might not have been their first overdose. When opioid-involved deaths occurred, two thirds of the individuals would have died in solitude.
A relatively small portion, 13.2 per cent had contracted hepatitis C, a contagious liver disease primarily transmitted by contact with infected blood. In comparison, an even smaller portion, 8.3 per cent, had epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterised by recurrent seizures. Despite having a diagnosis, many individuals did not take anti-epileptic medication at the time of their deaths. These figures are quite severe when one considers epilepsy affects only 0.9 per cent of the overall population.
Nearly half of these individuals, 46.3 per cent, had a history of mental health issues. Among those with mental health histories, a third hadn’t been in touch with medical services.
When looking at the cause of death, there was a 57 per cent chance that poisoning, mainly by drugs, was responsible. Frequently, this poisoning was a toxic cocktail of opioids, benzodiazepines, and cocaine. Heart-related health issues were another frequent cause of death.
For those who were not drug users, the cause of death was traumatic in 50 per cent of the cases, often due to drowning or definitive suicide.
The coroner’s records provide a deep insight into the lives of 121 individuals who died whilst being homeless in 2020. The information was painstakingly collated by researchers at the Health Research Board, a project financed by the Departments of Health and Justice. They define homelessness as a state where one has no fixed accommodation, is living in temporary or emergency housing, is residing in grossly inadequate conditions, or in accommodation that is at high risk or unrecorded.
The compilation of this information was published in a report by the HRB in January. The report, while being very informative, did not project any conclusions or propose any recommendations.
Subsequently, we have substantial knowledge about 40 homeless individuals who have died in the Dublin region this year alone. As the cold season approaches, the vital issue arises: how are we going to utilise this information?