Rough sleepers dying ‘alarmingly’ premature deaths, Sydney homeless data shows

In a city as wealthy as Sydney, people shouldn’t have to live on the streets. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

One of Sydney’s largest homelessness services says its client data shows the city’s rough sleepers are dying at “alarmingly” premature rates, particularly those with schizophrenia.

Matthew Talbot Hostel, a homelessness service run by St Vincent de Paul Society NSW based in the inner-city suburb of Woolloomooloo,
said data from about 4,000 patients attending its health clinic shows those experiencing homelessness are dying at an average age of 55.9.