Exclusive | Almost half of NYC homeless deaths tied to drug overdoses or alcohol abuse: study

Almost half of the deaths of New York City’s homeless population were tied to drugs and alcohol, an eye-opening new report found.Some 285 of the 634 homeless residents who died in a one-year stretch from 2024-25 lost their lives because of drug addiction, overdoses or alcoholism, the Departments of Health and Social Services/Homeless Services said in its 2026 report.The analysis, which covers documented deaths from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, includes deaths in temporary shelters as well as on the streets, in subways, abandoned properties or while in an acquaintance’s home.Most homeless people — 58% — died in a hospital while 22% of unsheltered residents died outdoors.Of the total, 52% of those who died were listed as unsheltered while 48% died in a homeless facility.Authors of the report said the numbers are likely undercounted due to difficulties tracking thousands of migrants served by other agencies operating temporary encampments during the border crisis at the Mexican border.“Some of the tens of thousands of new migrants provided shelter by H+H [Health+Hospitals], HPD [Housing Preservation and Development] and New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) could have died and not be identified as homeless decedents since DOHMH did not receive data from these agencies for matching,” the report said.The top five leading causes of death in FY25 were drug-related (40% or 251), heart disease (12% or 78), accidents excluding drug overdose (9% or 60), alcohol misuse/dependence (5% or 34), and cancer (4% or 23).There were 18 deaths by suicide, 15 deaths attributed to exposure to cold/hypothermia, 15 subway accident deaths, 14 auto accident deaths and 11 homicides, the data showed.There were also five deaths from toxic substances, four heat-related deaths and three deaths attributed to falls, the report said.At least 15 people died from hypothermia this past brutally cold winter, autopsies conducted by the city’s chief medical examiner’s office in late F...