The number of people who died while homeless in the United Kingdom reached a record 1,611 in 2024, figures from the Museum of Homelessness have revealed.

The new figure represents a 9 percent increase from the previous year, with most deaths linked to suicide or drugs, as substances like spice and nitazines become increasingly lethal.

Matthew Turtle, director of the Museum of Homelessness, said the deaths “show how homeless people continue to be deeply failed.”

Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern described the figures as “heartbreaking” and said the government was “accelerating efforts to tackle the root causes of homelessness.”

According to the Museum, the data was compiled from coroners’ reports, media coverage, family testimonies and Freedom of Information requests after the government stopped publishing official figures in 2022.

Tim Renshaw, chief executive of the Archer Project, said, “We shouldn’t be surprised that people are dying on our streets,” said Tim Renshaw, chief executive of the Archer Project, a homeless charity in Sheffield.

“We have one of the worst systems in terms of making housing available to the poorest. We are looking at homelessness being related to health factors – trauma, depression, anxiety. And we’ve increasing levels of poverty.”

The report shows that three quarters of those who died were men, while eleven were children. Most deaths occurred in temporary or supported housing, and London recorded the highest total number of cases. (BBC)