DENVER—A Denver program aimed at ending homelessness says 44 percent of homeless respondents in a recent survey have conditions that could put them at a higher risk of dying prematurely if left on the streets.
The national average is around 42 percent, Denver’s Road Home said.
A team of homeless outreach workers and volunteers surveyed 276 homeless people on Denver streets and in overflow shelters last week. They found 121 had factors that research by Boston Healthcare for the Homeless President Jim O’Connell has suggested could make them more vulnerable to premature death, Denver’s Road Home said.
For instance, 62 had a combination of mental illness, substance abuse and chronic disease, and 48 had been hospitalized or taken to the emergency room three times in the past year. Others reported they were older than 60, had HIV, AIDS, liver disease, cirrhosis, end stage renal disease or an injury from cold and wet weather.
The survey also offered a glimpse of part of Denver’s homeless population. The survey found 55 respondents, or 20 percent, were veterans. Of those veterans, about 44 percent were considered vulnerable.
Twenty-five percent of the respondents said their primary source of income was panhandling, and 15 percent said it was food stamps or Aid to the Needy and Disabled. About half had no health insurance and said they go to public health clinics or hospitals for care. Thirty-seven percent reported being the victim of a violent attack since becoming homeless.
Jamie Van Leeuwen, executive director of Denver’s Road Home, said the organization hopes to house and provide services to 280 homeless individuals and families with 500 units of housing in the pipeline over the next two years.
Denver’s Road Home estimates there are more than 3,900 homeless men, women and children in Denver.
