Suicide among the homeless: a 9-year case-series analysis

Among the homeless there are high rates of mortality and a significant number of attempted and completed suicides. In Tel-Aviv, Israel, there is an ongoing municipal outreach program for the homeless.

The aim of the present study was to describe the subgroup of homeless persons who had died by suicide.

Over a 9-year period the records of each homeless person who had died were assessed by two psychiatrists and a clinical criminologist. The project was undertaken in a large city and was feasible due to close cooperation between the municipal welfare department and mental health consultants.

Of the 1,192 homeless persons located and contacted, 156 persons had died (13.1%). Nine of the deaths were by completed suicide (5.8%). All were male. Mean age for the suicide subgroup was 34 +/- 8.7 years, significantly younger than those who died of other causes (p < .01). The majority had completed high school education. While the majority of deaths were drug or alcohol related, in only 1 of 9 deaths by suicide was there a history of drug abuse. Psychiatric comorbidity was recorded in 4 of the 9 persons. The majority of persons (6/9) had died of suicide by hanging.

Suicide is not a negligible cause of death among the homeless population.