Rise in rough sleeper deaths in UK prompts call for shelter funds

Campaign group warns of emergency on our streets' after estimated 155 people died while rough sleeping last year

Andrew Reece was 37 and sleeping rough in Stoke-on-Trent when on 10 May 2023 he took his own life in an abandoned and roofless children's home.

Reece, known locally as Pud, was one of an estimated 155 people who died in the UK last year while rough sleeping, an annual increase of 42%, according to a count by the Museum of Homelessness project.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.