When you consider the circumstances of many homeless people, it is not surprising that their lives are shorter than the median

It’s no secret that life is hard for the homeless. Now a report indicates that life for the homeless is also short. We have made the case before, backed by many studies, that providing housing for the homeless saves taxpayers money, but we should focus first on saving lives.

A report released Thursday says the median age of death for a homeless person in B.C. is between 40 and 49 years, while the average life expectancy for the general population is 83.

The report also said that 47 per cent of the deaths of homeless persons in B.C. are accidental, while the accidental-death rate among the general population is 18 per cent.  Read the rest of this editorial at the Times Colonist…