Deadliest Year For Orange County’s Homeless Highlights Alarming Trend
Experts say the numbers tell the story of how increased street homelessness, the opioid epidemic and failures in the public health system have combined to turn an already difficult existence into something more lethal.
Orange County Register:
Orange County Homeless Deaths Hit All-Time High
Last year, more than 200 homeless men, women and children lost their lives to drugs, alcohol, mental illness, violence and, in many cases, years of neglect and hard living on the streets, according to reports from the Orange County Coroner's Office reviewed by the Register. ... The death totals for homeless people in the county have jumped in each of the past six years, doubling over the last half decade. In all, 1,305 homeless people have died in Orange County over the past 12 years, about half coming since 2013. (Graham, 2/3)