Mumsnet Talk

She was with a group of other homeless people who habitually camp there on the ring road I now learn. I know that things are getting very bad for a great many people but I live near Exeter and go there every day and am ashamed to say I didn't even know there were homeless people camping there. I did know that increasingly large numbers of people here are having to use the food bank to survive. How many more invisible people are silently suffering out there?

yes it was a terribly sad thing, I followed the story on Twitter overnight.

There are often tents along the bank on Western Way up under the trees, I've seen them there a few times. Such a sad waste of a life. Everyone was someones baby once.

so very sad.i didnt know shed been homeless
under tory coalition the cuts significantly impact
hope her friends, family are well supported and debriefed

I didn't realise people camped there either. How awful.

I seem to remember reading that a community of homeless people were moved on from a camp near the city wall in the middle of last week...

The hideous irony is that it's just around the corner from the Devon & Cornwall Housing association isn't it?

That tree looked very sheltering, with branches right down to the ground. Unfortunately those types of trees are shallow-rooted.

yes it probably seemed a perfect shelter from heavy rain.

in fairness a HA doesnt necessarily have ability or resources to accommodate homeless
we dont know what the specific circumstances of this woman case were
it is dreadful.my thoughts are with her friends and loved ones

she was quite young wasn't she? very sad

...just realised the word "perfect" was wrong on so many levels.

I think she might have actually been killed by the wall that was dragged over when the tree uprooted. Apparently her tent was pitched alongside that brick wall.

Yes early 20s I believe, germy

yes I agree with scottishmummy, not much a housing association HQ could do near midnight on a Saturday,

They'd been there a few weeks at least though. In fact they were kicked off the site by Exeter Council a couple of weeks ago.

length of time camping that doesn't necessarily have bearing on the HA
not sure you cannot loosely link this to a HA, and we dont know details of case
HA take by referral,acceptance and placed on list. being homeless may not fulfil criteria

op youre linking a lot of potentially unrelated facts to a tragic accident
we have no idea her circumstances,or progress of any housing applications
councils will move on from inappropriate sites.as yet we dont know LA role in her case

The coatlition is great at hiding statistics.

A highly qualified friend of mine has just lost her benefits because she didn't fill some job seeing form in correctly.

No wonder the unemployment statitistics are dropping..

The homesless statistics are dropping too because they just get deleted.....

RIP

seeking*

if friend so well qualified how come she filled form out incorrectly?
most forms if completed inaccurate makes them invalid
that form completion has no bearing upon this tragic accident

RIP to her, and all those who died in this weeks floods.

Falling trees are a great hazard in storms, and sadly it seems there are fatalities on many occasions because o extreme weather.

Very very sad. Re homelessness though it echoes a situation in the hurricane of 1987. I was working in London at the time and a homeless man was killed then by a falling tree in the Lincoln's Inn Fields area. The Fields were a camping ground at that time and for several years for scores of homeless people.

SM yes, went off thread a bit there, ranting about the government and stats.

RIP

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/nov/29/tribute-homeless-woman-tree-exeter

The guardian has done a tribute to her. Really sad life story. RIP.