A sad bit of local news!
The start of September saw a sad bit of news for the area.
Many of us had got to know Tracey O’Brien, who sat outside the vet’s premises on the corner of Lower Clapton Road and Clapton Passage. She was homeless, had been dealing with a lot of issues for many years, had a massive heart and was known by many (it seems like many, many!). Sadly she died in August and we were letting the community know.
- A WhatsApp Group was set up by a local man who had known Tracey for 8 years. This was called ‘In Loving Memory Of Tracey’ and was intended to honour the memory of Tracey and plan a memorial.
- The memorial took place in early November in Clapton Square, led by a local celebrant who knew Tracey and attended by around 100 people, maybe more. It was a really moving event and was a real expression of how Tracey connected with people and, in spite of her struggles, the difference she made.
- There were also efforts being made to plan a permanent memorial – a mural, a mosaic made by a local artist, a tree or a bench near where Tracey sat. When this comes to fruition, we will update this on here.
- Also, in early October, the following article appeared about Tracey in the Hackney Citizen, and of the impact she had, and the size of community who knew her. The article can be found at https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/…/community-death…/
- Finally, a fundraising page was also set up by another local resident, to raise funds for the planned permanent memorial at Tracey’s spot. The intention is also to give a significant donation to a local homelessness charity – if there is enough, and the organisers hope to name a bed at a local hostel in Tracey’s memory.
Please note, to avoid any misunderstanding, whilst we are reporting this here, none of the organising was anything to do with CPNAG. We are purely updating you on what we reported via our social media.
