Thousands of homeless people in Europe are at risk of dying prematurely. According to estimates, at least 453 homeless people died in France in 2013. The true number is likely to be much higher as experience of homelessness is not necessarily recorded on death certificates, so that the huge impact homelessness has on people’s health and wellbeing, morbidity and mortality often goes unnoticed. While governments across Europe are drawing up ambitious strategies to end homelessness, there is a lack of statistics available about death among homeless people and very little is formally recorded about the thousands of lives lost across Europe due to homelessness.
