Download Issue 61 - The Pavement

The Pavement, May 2011 / 19Bradford deathBradford police are hoping thatDNA profiling can help identifyhuman remains found in a tentclose to the town centre at thebeginning of last month, asreported in the April edition ofThe Pavement. After appealingfor information from thepublic, police received ‘dozens’ ofpotential names from membersof the public, but are yet tomake a positive identification.The body is believed to be thatof a rough sleeper, though theremains were such that police havebeen unable to tell whether thevictim was even male or female– and it is thought that they bodyhad lain dead since last summer.The tent was in undergrowthset back from the main road,and was out of public view.The bones have now been sentto a forensic laboratory, in the hopeof making a DNA match. DetectiveInspector Mark Long, of BradfordSouth CID, who is leading the investigationinto the discovery of thebody, said, “The bones have beensent to our forensic laboratory to tryto establish who the person is. Theprocess will take about a month,but we are hoping the scientists willbe able to get a DNA profile, so wecan put a name to the remains. Thedeath is being treated as non-suspicious,so the main thrust of ourinquiry is to identify who the personis. There is nothing to suggest therehas been any criminal offence.”James O’Reilly• Anyone with informationshould call Bradford South CID on0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers,in confidence, on 0800 555111.A new guide bookAn ex-rough sleeper has publisheda book – ‘The Girl’s Guideto Homelessness’ – about herexperiences that she hopes willdemonstrate that homelessnesscan happen to anyone.In February 2009, Brianna Karpfound herself out on the streets. Sheconsidered herself a typical youngwoman from Orange County, SouthCarolina. She had worked hard andachieved well at school, and founddecent work and independence.She had a complicated life at home,with one parent suffering withmental health problems, and lowincome meant she’d had to work tosupport siblings from a young age,but Karp did not feel this has negativelyaffected her own mindset.But when her company laidoff more than half of its staffand her benefit payments meantshe had to give up her own homeand return to her parents, shelost everything. And finally, whenher parent attacked her, she wasevicted from her refuge. Feelingthat her friends had too many oftheir own problems to support heras well, Karp resolve to strike out onher own, to take the streets on andsurvive, with just $300 to her name.In the global recession, oneper cent of US citizens (around670,000 people in 2009) haveexperienced homelessness, andthe majority of them are families.Karp is by no means the first roughsleeper to put pen to paper, but shehopes to smash the stereotypesof rough sleeping with her book.Her blog states: “I am an educatedwoman with stable employmentand residence history. I have neverdone drugs. I am not mentally ill.I am a career executive assistant– coherent, opinionated, poised,and capable. If you saw me walkingdown the street, you wouldn’thave assumed that I lived in aparking lot. In short, I was just likeyou – except without the convenienceof a permanent address.”Although critics have praisedher work as a tale of triumph overadversity, Karp sees it as more ofan exercise in urging the public torethink their views on homelessness.Her work began life as an onlineblog that detailed the day-to-daychallenges she faced when seekingwork and a new life with neithera home nor a permanent base.The book will be released on 26April 2011 in the United States.Rebecca WearnLove thy neighbour?A vicar who stabbed and pouredboiling water over a homelessman sheltering outside his churchhas been jailed for seven years.Reverend Friday Archy, 51,attacked Ben Donetus, 25, topunish him for been a sinfulhomeless person, a court heard.Before stabbing his victim in theneck, armpit and chest, Archyscreamed: “I told you to go, ifyou stay here you will die.”Mr Donetus was left withsevere burns, four stab woundsand a collapsed lung.Archy, a vicar at Christ-ChoosingChurch of God, in Peckham, southeastLondon, was jailed after beingfound guilty of inflicting grievousbodily harm with intent following atrial at Inner London Crown Court,Southwark. Donetus, who had beensleeping rough for two years, hadbeen sheltering by the church foraround two months with two others.Describing the attack in May lastyear, he said: “I remember wakingup, feeling wet. I felt my back and itwas wet. I could feel it was also hot.“I turned over and saw thereverend standing over me withan electric kettle in his left hand.“He was shouting: ‘Get out,get out’. I tried to get up, butthe reverend pushed me to theground. As I fell I saw he had asilver knife in his right hand. Iturned away to protect myself,then felt myself being stabbed. Icould see the reverend was stand-