94 HOMELESS DEAD IN JUST 12 MONTHS
Charity say shocking stats don’t show full total
ALMOST 100 homeless Scots have died in the last year, according to new figures.
Research revealed the death toll for Scots sleeping on streets, in temporary accommodation or shelters reached a shocking 94 for the last 12 months.
The findings have prompted calls for the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland to launch an urgent probe.
It is thought the total is likely to be higher than the reported figure, as there are no formal systems in place to count homeless deaths.
Homlessness charities have called for the statistics to be recorded across the country, as they are with drug deaths. And Shelter Scotland have said the Scottish Government should use some of the £50million pledged to their Ending Homelessness Together Fund towards investigating why people are dying.
Graeme Brown, director of the charity, said: “These numbers are a disgrace and sadly, in all probability, only part of this tragic picture in Scotland.
“Shelter Scotland believe much more should be done to find what
can be done to prevent these personal tragedies being repeated.
“Each of these people was someone’s child, someone’s brother, sister, mother or father and their loss will be felt by those around them.”
The figures were published last night by investigators at The Ferret website and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ),
Scots figures include 47 deaths in Glasgow, including one death in the Glasgow Winter Night Shelter in January.
TBIJ first started recording deaths on October 1, 2017 as part of their Dying Homeless Project. They have counted at least 449 homeless deaths in the UK over the same period.
The number of people who are living homeless has increased sharply in the UK but no organisation have been tasked with counting how many homeless people die each year.
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “We are working with partners to understand more about the numbers and needs of rough sleepers.”
The full investigation can be found at theferret.scot.