SARASOTA – A recent national study found that individuals experiencing homelessness are three to four times more likely to die prematurely.
And for those living on the streets here on the Suncoast – the average life expectancy is reduced by 29 years.
After the body of a homeless woman, Tiffany Williams, was found by joggers Wednesday morning on Holmes Beach. Many within the homeless community stop to wonder if one of their own will be identified as the victim.
According to data from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council – for every age group, a person experiencing homelessness is three times more likely to die than the general population.
And all too often, those who die on the streets are not connected to family or support systems who can hold a funeral or properly honor them.
“They’re not just faces, they’re not just stats,” said Laura Licoski. “These are people and they’re our friends.”
Licoski, a community activist with Facing Homelessness – Bradenton, knows all too well the challenges that comes with losing a friend to homelessness.
Licoski says at any given time it’s difficult to keep an accurate count of the homeless population on the Suncoast. As many transit from place to place keeping a record of those who’ve passed has always been a rough estimate.
Which makes honoring them much more meaningful for Licoski.
“We want people to be remembered, we want them to be known now while they’re here and present and alive,” said Licoski. “And we most certainly want to make sure their lives mattered. They mattered to us.”
Richard Breed has been living on the streets of Bradenton for nearly four years. He says regardless of the individual that passed away while living on the streets, the homeless community shares a close bond.
“You kinda want to think that A.) people will think about you and B.) thinking about it and meeting all these people that have the same connection,” said Breed.
CEO of the Suncoast Partnership to end Homelessness Chris Johnson says in Manatee and Sarasota County there’s an estimated 154 people that have died while homeless. And the life expectancy among that population drastically reducing each year.
“Come to find out, that the average life expectancy is around 89.2 years,” said Johnson. “So anyone who is on the street and is on the street will loose almost 30 years of life expectancy.”
Johnson and Licoski both says due to a lack of national review or standardized data collection for homeless mortality, it is difficult to calculate the extent that homelessness is killing people.