Overview

• Researchers at the Museum of Homelessness reported the total after compiling cases from freedom of information requests, coroner inquests and family memorials, noting the count likely understates the true scale.
• Drug and alcohol causes accounted for 44% of the recorded deaths, underscoring substance misuse as a major driver of mortality among people experiencing homelessness.
• England and Northern Ireland saw increases while Scotland and Wales fell, with the largest regional rises in the South West, East Midlands and East of England.
• Government data published in July showed record highs in England of 131,140 households and 169,050 children in temporary accommodation as of March 2025.
• Homelessness minister Alison McGovern called the deaths an “abject failure that cannot be tolerated,” while Crisis and project director Matthew Turtle urged a more ambitious cross‑government strategy.