Help Tina's mum prevent deaths in supported homeless accommodation
Help Tina's mum prevent deaths in supported homeless accommodation
Latest: July 12, 2022
Inquest into death in supported homeless accommodation finds misadventure
Tina Robson was 35 years old when she was found dead in Bridge House Mission in Stockton on Tees on 26 July 2020. On 7 July 2022, at the end of a 4 day Inquest touching Tina's death atTeess…
Read moreWho we are
I am Sue Robson, mum and carer to Tina Robson and Special Guardian to her son Vinnie now 13. Tina was 35 years old when she was found dead in her flat in Bridge House Mission (Stockton) on 26.7.2020. She had struggled bravely with the effects of childhood trauma and addiction all her adult life.
Upon her death, Tina had been living in “Accommodation Based Short Term Housing Related Support” funded by Stockton Borough Council and was subject to s42 safeguarding enquiry and a Police Public Protection Order as she was considered vulnerable and unable to protect herself.
Bridge House Mission provided “supported accommodation for 28 homeless individuals with multiple complex needs.” Tina had not been seen by staff for over 5 hours when she was found dead, and pathology suggests she may have been dead for a number of hours.
Our case and what we are trying to achieve
An Inquest touching the death of Tina is listed for four days from 4th July 2022.
For Tina’s family, the four-day hearing is an opportunity to:
- Bring to account the professionals and agencies who were responsible for supporting and safeguarding Tina.
- Through the process of questioning by our trusted legal team, to expose the failings that we believe led to her death.
- Influence the Coroner to make a future deaths report that will help to prevent deaths such as Tina’s in supported homeless accommodation
Why we need legal advice and support for the Inquest hearing
For two years, Tina’s mum has worked diligently and tenaciously to raise questions and concerns with the Coroner arising witness statements and evidence about Tina’s death and the circumstances leading up to it. Since November 2020, Tina’s mums’ monumental efforts to achieve truth and justice for her daughter and others like her, have been supported by an expert Inquest solicitor and barrister. This work has been funded by Legal Help up to the hearing, but it does not cover advocacy.
A pre-inquest review hearing held on 10.10.2022 ruled that Article 2 is not engaged. The legal team carried out the work for this hearing on a Pro-bono basis.
In early April 2021, the legal team made an application to the Exceptional Cases Funding Team for legal aid for the hearing on Tina’s family’s behalf. The notification of the refusal was received at the end May. An appeal was submitted, and less than two weeks before the hearing, this too has been declined.
Tina’s family, in conjunction with their legal team have considered a pre-action judicial review letter. However, the appeal decision was left so close to the hearing that this is not a viable option.
The two other interested parties in the case Bridge House Mission and Stockton Borough Council, are both supported with expert legal teams. The family have no means of funding their legal team from their own resources. The prospect of Tina’s mum representing her interests single handily through a complex 4-day hearing involving 18 witnesses is intolerable to contemplate.
Without our specialist team of lawyers, Tina’s family believe that the monumental achievements made to date in shaping the depth and breadth of the Inquest hearing will be in vain.
How we aiming to raise and why
We are determined to ensure a full and fearless inquest into Tina’s death. We need to fully understand the events that led up to her death and, hopefully, to ensure that other homeless women suffering life-long trauma and addiction are better treated, supported, and safeguarded.
As outcome of the Inquest touching Tina’s death, her family would like to see:
- Well trained, professionally developed staff teams and safer Housing related Support services.
- Improved multi-agency working and communication leading to the prevention of deaths in homeless people where there are issues of trauma and self-neglect.
- Better risk analysis of established practices and safer Housing related Support services.
- Safer accommodation that protects homeless women from exploitation and violence.
If possible, this will be achieved by identifying any unsafe practices that are still in place, which, if not corrected, could result in further deaths. To ensure that this happens, it is essential that all interested parties, including our family, have access to properly funded legal representation. For this purpose, we need £5,384 to fund our legal team at the Inquest hearing.
This is not just about Tina
In the lead up to the Inquest touching Tina’s death our legal team from Ison Harrison Solicitors and Garden Court North, have been involved in producing “INQUESTS: A short guide for bereaved families”. The guide was created in partnership with Greater Manchester Law Centre, INQUEST, Shelter, Museum of Homelessness, amid rising concern about the number of homeless deaths in the UK and wanting to offer support and information to bereaved families who have lost someone they love.
Our hope that the Inquest touching Tina’s death will be a landmark case, shining a bright light upon deaths of vulnerable people with complex needs in temporary homeless accommodation, and to bring about much needed change in treatment, safeguarding and prevention.
Thank you for reading this. Your help will be invaluable in our campaign for truth, justice and change in Tina's name.
Get updates about this case
Subscribe to receive email updates from the case owner on the latest news about the case.
Be a promoter
Your share on Facebook could raise £26 for the case
I'll share on Facebook
Sue Robson
July 12, 2022
Inquest into death in supported homeless accommodation finds misadventure
Tina Robson was 35 years old when she was found dead in Bridge House Mission in Stockton on Tees on 26 July 2020. On 7 July 2022, at the end of a 4 day Inquest touching Tina's death atTeesside Magistrates Court, HM Assistant Coroner Karin Welsh at the inquest into her death, concluded that Tina died of misadventure and said she had no concerns about the housing-related support offered by Bridge House Mission or the decision to offer Tina accommodation there.
Tina’s family have criticised an ineffective investigation of Tina’s death by Cleveland police, which led to a dearth of information to inform the inquest. They now call for action to support women suffering lifelong trauma and associated mental ill health and addictions.
Sue Robson, Tina’s mother, said: “We arrived at Teesside Coroner’s Court on Monday seeking answers about how and why Tina died. We leave here today no clearer about her actual cause of death. The pathologist’s conclusion, although based on the balance of probabilities, was more due to there being no other identifiable cause of death.
We are left deeply disturbed by what we believe was an ineffective investigation into the circumstances surrounding Tina’s death by Cleveland Police which left a dearth of any useful information. That said, we are relieved with the Coroner’s conclusion of misadventure as opposed to drug-related death, which was advocated for by the lawyers for Bridge House Mission.
From what we have heard over the last few days, we are certain that Bridge House Mission was not a safe or suitable housing placement for Tina, nor for other women suffering lifelong trauma and associated poor mental health and addictions."
Gemma Vine of Ison Harrison solicitors, who represent the family, said: “Tina’s inquest has highlighted the need for regulation in the housing-related supported accommodation sector beyond simple contract monitoring. There is a dire need for care, compassion and concern in these settings that sadly appeared to be lacking for Tina.
It has been particularly concerning to hear professional witnesses from both statutory and voluntary services refer to Tina as having made ‘lifestyle choices’ to use alcohol and substances, despite the overwhelming evidence of historic and continuing abuse.
Professionals repeatedly used the language of ‘capacity’ and ‘consent’ to justify care and support decisions made in relation to Tina, which appeared to demonstrate a lack of awareness of guidance such as that from Alcohol Change UK.
There is a continued need to dispel and challenge the myths around alcohol use and the ‘choice’ concept; that vulnerable people dependent on alcohol choose to live their lives in the way they do and unless they consent to intervention there is nothing services can do.”
Jodie Anderson, Senior Caseworker at INQUEST, said: “Tina’s death is yet another example of the ways in which public services fail to support women dealing with significant trauma. For Tina this contributed to her mental ill health and addictions from a young age. Throughout her life she did not get the specialist care and support she needed to overcome this.
In her final hours Tina was not supported by staff. As such, she became one of hundreds of people to die whilst in accommodation for homeless people. The number of deaths of homeless adults continues to increase. This is yet another reminder that urgent and long term action is needed across public services to prevent yet more deaths in these circumstances.”
Video Pen Portrait played at the start of the Inquest
Follow the #TruthJusticeTina campaign on Twitter and Facebook
Get updates about this case
Subscribe to receive email updates from the case owner on the latest news about the case.
Recent contributions