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L.A. County homeless deaths surged 56% in pandemic’s first year.
Overdoses are largely to blame
People, tents and piles of belongings on a city sidewalk
From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, 1,988 deaths of homeless people
were reported in L.A. County, including 715 overdose deaths. Above, a
homeless encampment on skid row in downtown Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco /
Los Angeles Times)
BY CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ, RONG-GONG LIN II
APRIL 22, 2022 7:06 PM PT
Deaths of homeless people in Los Angeles County soared by 56% in the
year after the start of the pandemic, driven primarily by an increase in overdoses, according to a study published this month.
Between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, 1,988 deaths of people
experiencing homelessness were reported, up from 1,271 in the 12 months
prior, pre-pandemic, according to the Department of Public Health study.
The numbers in L.A. County mirror figures recorded in San Francisco over
a similar time period; between March 2020 and March 2021, 331 homeless
people died in the city, more than twice the number reported in any
previous year, according to a study coauthored by scientists at UC San Francisco, the San Francisco Department of Public Health and New York University.
The L.A. County report, unlike past years, does not provide a homeless
death rate due to restrictions put on the annual homeless count.
“The findings in this report reflect a true state of emergency on the
streets across our County,” First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis
said in a release. “In a civil society, it is unacceptable for any of us
to not be profoundly disturbed by the shocking needs documented in this year’s homeless mortality report.”
In the year surveyed, 179 homeless people died of COVID-19, accounting
for about a quarter of the increase in overall deaths from the year prior. Still, a surge in fatal overdoses was the primary driver of the
increase. In the pre-pandemic year, the Department of Public Health
reported just over 400 overdose deaths. In the year after the outbreak,
that figure nearly doubled, to 715.
For some homeless advocates, the results are disturbing but not unexpected. “Increases in overdoses are not surprising; we’ve seen it anecdotally,” said Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles medical director Dr. Susan Partovi. “We’re trying to give everyone Narcan [an overdose-reversing nasal
spray] as much as possible.”
MONTEBELLO, CA - OCTOBER 14: Bill Bodner, DEA Special Agent in Charge
for the Los Angeles Field Division at a news conference held to announce
the largest domestic seizure of methamphetamine in the division's
history. According to DEA the seizure of controlled substances, 2,224
pounds of methamphetamine, 893 pounds of cocaine and 13 pounds of heroin occurred on Oct. 2 by agents who served search warrants at multiple
narcotic stash houses in Moreno Valley and Perris. The operation was the
result of an investigation into a large-scale drug-trafficking
organization with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. warehouse on Wednesday,
Oct. 14, 2020 in Montebello, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
CALIFORNIA
Seven charged with distributing fentanyl that killed 10 in Orange County
April 22, 2022
The pandemic likely exacerbated an already growing overdose issue,
driven primarily by the prevalence of fentanyl, by making it more
difficult for people experiencing homelessness to access care.
It’s harder to make an appointment for Suboxone, a medication used to
treat opioid addiction, and to access any type of resources, Partovi said. Partovi called for the implementation of safe injection sites, like
those in New York City, to combat the opioid epidemic. Such sites allow
the use of drugs while providing clean needles and other medical
treatment as well as monitoring users for overdoses.
“We need to stop vilifying people who are addicted to drugs,” Partovi said. Young, Latino and Black people experiencing homelessness bore the brunt
of the increase in deaths, according to the report.
Overall deaths increased by more than 105% among those ages 18 to 29, by
69% among Latinos and by 58% among Black people.
Nearly 200 more Black homeless people died in the year after the start
of the pandemic than in the year prior, while there were 334 more deaths
among Latinos.
Soledad Enrichment Action community health outreach worker Maria Mejia,
53, left, gives information about COVID-19 vaccines
CALIFORNIA
‘Alarming’ disparities leave parts of L.A. County hit hard by COVID-19 March 2, 2022
Young, Latino and Black homeless people were also most affected by
overdose deaths, with increases of more than 112% for both 18- to
29-year-olds and 30- to 49-year-olds, 84% for Latinos and 74% for Black
people.
In addition, homicide deaths rose by nearly 50%, and deaths from traffic injuries rose by more than 30%.
The county has attempted to address barriers to care during the pandemic
and worked to provide services and support to homeless people, including
crisis response teams to connect unhoused people to coronavirus testing
and vaccinations, said public health director Barbara Ferrer.
An estimated 65% of people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County have received at least one dose of vaccine, a decent but not ideal
percentage, Ferrer said.
The county has made efforts to offer unhoused residents places where
they can quarantine or be isolated, Ferrer said, and Project Roomkey
hotel rooms can prevent medically vulnerable people from living in a
situation that would create more danger for them because of COVID-19.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 27: (Editor's note: This photo is initially
for a Hayley Smith story.) Gabriela Martinez, right, is preparing a
vaccination for Blandly Amaya at South Central Family Health Center on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. The center is located in a neighborhood with the highest Omicron case rates in the county.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
SCIENCE
How many California lives were saved by COVID-19 vaccines? Scientists
have an answer
April 22, 2022
“So I do want to give the county a lot of credit and all of the workers
— and we’ve got a lot of private organizations as well helping — that have done everything we can,” she said. “But I still think the root of
the problem of homelessness has, during the pandemic, led to an increase
in mortality among people experiencing homelessness.”
The county plans to expand harm-reduction services with a focus on
Latino and Black homeless people, increase the distribution of naloxone
and expand investments in other areas of care.
But the report also notes that deaths of homeless people have been
trending upward for years, without the aid of a pandemic.
“This recent increase, while notably large, is consistent with a
longer-term trend … since 2014,” the report said.

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