More than 170 homeless people died this year in metro Denver according to new unofficial numbers from the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
The organization says it was only able to get details on 79 of those deaths after reviewing records from the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner and about 25 related homeless service organizations in the seven-county metropolitan area.
Two-thirds of those who died were male, and most were aged 51-60 years old. The leading cause of death was accidents, including many overdoses from drugs or alcohol. More than half of the deaths occurred during the spring and summer.
The report says it’s getting harder to find shelter space in the city, and people on the streets live on average thirty years less than the general population.
More homeless coverage from 2016:
