Homeless deaths continue to rise in King County

The deaths of people who likely were homeless totaled 110 in 2006, continuing an increase from the previous two years, according to a report released Wednesday by King County.

Statistically, the most common homeless death was of a 48-year-old white male who died of trauma or "acute intoxication" during the fall or winter in Seattle.

Last year's 110 fatalities compared with 94 in 2005 and 82 in 2004.

The deaths covered in the report are only those under the jurisdiction of the county medical examiner.

A greater number of homeless people were not included in the report because they died in hospitals or because their relatives could provide an address for them, said Janna Wilson, program manager for Health Care for the Homeless Network. The network is part of Public Health -- Seattle & King County, which produced the report.

Trauma caused the most deaths last year, topped by homicide, suicide, struck pedestrians, fire and falls. Acute intoxication -- mostly abuse of street or prescription drugs -- was next.

While the leading causes of death were similar to previous years, Wilson said, "we're concerned about the rise in the number of deaths."

But it's "a little challenging to assess what's behind that increase," she said, as the county's homeless population did not increase in 2006, based on the annual One Night Count of the homeless.

One positive sign was a drop in homeless deaths in the first 10 months of this year, with 70 so far in 2007 compared with 86 for the same period in 2006.

"The majority (of the homeless) do not have health insurance and preventative health care," Wilson said. "So they delay care, and are living in conditions that just exacerbate illnesses. They are sicker, with very sad outcomes."