A CHARITY is deeply concerned at the "harrowing figures" around homelessness deaths in Bradford.

The latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest there were 20 deaths in Bradford between 2017 and 2021. Of these, six occurred last year.

In England and Wales, males accounted for 87 per cent of deaths registered in 2021 compared with 13 per cent for females, a ratio similar to previous years.

"We are deeply concerned by the harrowing figures that the ONS has released on homelessness," said a spokesperson from Andy's Man Club.

"We already knew that men were more predisposed towards homelessness but the fact that 87 per cent of deaths of homeless people were the deaths of men is a great shock to us.

"Men are more likely to be murdered, more likely to be homeless and are more likely to take their own lives than any other gender.

"It is of huge importance that more attention is paid to men's health in the hope that men are able to access support before they form part of the statistics."

The ONS estimates 741 homeless people died in 2021, up eight per cent from 688 the year before, but down from a peak of 788 in 2019.

An estimated 259 deaths were related to drug poisoning, accounting for 35 per cent of the total.

Alcohol-specific causes and suicide accounted for 10 per cent (71 deaths) and 13 per cent (99) respectively.

Separate figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show there were 2,609 households presenting as homeless in Bradford in the year to March.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “Homeless people often suffer from serious and complex health issues which can be made worse during periods of rough sleeping.

"Every death is a tragedy and many die much younger than they should.

“Bradford’s homeless death rate is lower than the national and regional average and we do everything within our powers to help and support homeless people and improve their life chances.

“We’ve set up a Homeless Outreach Partnership (HOP) that gets people off the streets and into accommodation quickly. We also provide over 30 emergency beds and an emergency cold weather service in our No Second Night Out Service.

“We also prevent rough sleeping by working collaboratively with other services to identify and help people who are most at risk.

“The Council has set up our Housing First programme that helps 30 people with the most complex and chronic problems to rebuild their lives in secure and decent accommodation with high levels of support.

“Our ambition is to end rough sleeping in Bradford and we will continue to work with partners to achieve this.”

Every year, the ONS collates deaths of homeless people under the age of 75, their location, ages, and cause of death.

The figures mainly cover people who were sleeping rough or using emergency accommodation such as homeless shelters at or around the time of death.

Across Yorkshire and The Humber, there have been an estimated 334 deaths of homeless people in the past five years.

Due to delays in registrations, around half of the deaths registered in 2021 took place in previous years, the ONS said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said "good progress has been made" toward tackling rough sleeping, but that these figures were a reminder that there is still more to be done.

They added that the Government is providing £2 billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness.