SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thursday marks the second night of Sacramento County’s Point-In-Time Count to create a comprehensive look at homelessness in the region.
A recent report says a homeless person dies every two days in Sacramento.
Bob Erlenbusch with the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homeless says 203 of the 9,000 people experiencing homelessness in the Sacramento area died in 2022.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office says the number is higher at 250.
"I would expect that number (of deaths) to be the same or increase,” said Erlenbusch.
He’s written a report on homeless deaths for his organization for the last eight years. He says the most deaths occur in the winter months – almost 60% happened in fall and winter.
“The average age of (death for) a homeless man is 50-years-old and sadly the average age of death for a homeless woman in our community is 47,” said Erlenbusch.
Which is why he agrees the point-in-time count is vital to understanding where people experiencing homelessness are staying and what they need.
Lisa Bates with Sacramento Step Forward oversees the count.
"The data is often used to inform funders like the federal government and state around how much support they need to provide us,” said Bates. “Being able to garner resources to address the problem for decision makers to understand if the decisions and actions are working.”
A record 800 volunteers are helping with this year’s count. You can read the 2022 report in full HERE.
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