“We remembered people with love, care and compassion.”
On October 9, the Museum of Homelessness (MoH) held a national vigil on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, to honour the lives of those who died while homeless in 2024. During the ceremony, the names of all those who had passed away were read aloud.
According to new research from the MoH’s Dying Homeless Project, 1,611 people died while homeless in the UK in 2024, an increase of 9 percent from the previous year. This equates to an average of four deaths per day.
The report highlights a rise in ‘deaths of despair,’ with a growing number of deaths by suicide and drug-related causes. The MoH points to increasing issues with dangerous psychoactive substances such as spice and synthetic opioids. Drugs and alcohol were involved in 44 percent of all recorded deaths.
The Dying Homeless Project, which the MoH has run since 2019, found that a growing number of people are dying in insecure housing situations. Of the cases where accommodation status was known, 49 percent of deaths occurred in temporary accommodation, such as hostels or hotels, and 18 percent in supported housing.
The research also uncovered that at least eleven children died while experiencing homelessness in 2024, though the MoH believes this is an undercount.
“We know from the project that many temporary accommodation placements are unfit for children,” the MoJ states.
Founded in 2015, the Museum of Homelessness is led by people with lived experience of homelessness. It combines independent research, campaigning, and collaborations with artists and creatives to challenge injustice and raise public awareness.
The campaigners are calling on the government to get a grip of the homelessness crisis and to do more to prevent such tragic deaths.
Talking to Left Foot Forward about the vigil this week, Matt Turtle, founder and co-director of Museum of Homelessness, said:
“We remembered people with love, care and compassion including people like Steve Broe who helped us develop our bricks and mortar site that the museum runs in Finsbury Park before we opened last year. Steve was a legendary busker and community organiser whose wisdoms inspired us and continue to inspire us today. His memory reminds us of the full, complex and wonderful lives that are all too often lost too soon. We hold him and all those names in our heart as we grieve for those we’ve lost.”
The Museum of Homelessness has an online memorial, where over 8,500 people who have died whilst homeless since October 2017 when the count began by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, are remembered.
Gill Taylor, strategic lead for the Dying Homeless Project, said it is with “heavy hearts” they report the deaths of so many homeless people.
“Whilst it is positive that local authorities and Safeguarding Adult Boards appear to be taking the issue more seriously, with better reporting and evidence of improved local partnership working to prevent deaths, turning the tide on this enormous loss of life needs more than better counting,” she said.
“We remember with love all those who died and continue our work in solidarity with bereaved loved ones and the homeless community.”
Image credit: 2025 Museum of Homelessness vigil at St Martin – Museum of Homelessness
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