A first-of-its-kind study released this month found people in Travis County who don’t have stable housing, health care or income have a drastically lower life expectancy than people in housing. Those deaths are increasingly caused by opioid overdoses.
ECHO's study looked at medical examiner and hospital records of more than 1,000 people who died on Austin's streets and hospitals from 2018 to 2023. It found Black Austinites without housing died 13 to 15 years younger than those in housing. White Austinites died 23 years younger; for Latinos, it was 14 years.
But the study's author, Danica Fraher, says there's a takeaway that offers a solution: People who transitioned into housing with services saw that disparity shrink. The data showed housing and stabilization added 10 years to median life expectancy.
"The long-term lifesaving solution for our folks living outside, especially those who are experiencing chronic homelessness … is permanent supportive housing," she said.
Fraher found the median age of death for people who connected with housing and services was 61.5 years, compared to 52 for folks who were living outdoors.
The frequency of deaths also increased in the five-year analysis. In 2018, Austin saw on average just seven deaths a month. In 2023, that average was 22 deaths. All told, 1,010 people died in hospitals or on Austin's streets during the study timeframe.
The report also calls attention to the need for more substance abuse treatment. Overdose deaths – specifically those tied to fentanyl – increased by more than 300% over the study's timeframe.
Fraher says 10 people died directly from fentanyl, while 109 people died from fentanyl combined with methamphetamine.
"We can suggest that perhaps fentanyl-related deaths are due to unintentional exposure," she said. "That really [shows] that having these fentanyl-testing strips would really save lives, cause folks don't even know that it's in their supply."
Texas lawmakers rejected a bill to legalize fentanyl strips last legislative session. Hays County state Rep. Erin Zwiener filed new legislation in the session that started Tuesday.
The report also highlights the cost of emergency care for homeless Austinites, as well as the need for access to preventative care. Health care costs for the 364 patients who died in a hospital setting totaled $11 million a year.
