Hackney residents have rallied together in a bid to fund a memorial for a beloved homeless woman who died last month.
Tracey O’Brien was a familiar face in Lower Clapton where she had been homeless for a number of years.
The news of her passing has "devastated" the community and sparked an outpouring of tributes, with piles of flowers laid on the corner of Clapton Passage in Lower Clapton Road where she often sat.
Sarah Pletts, who lives nearby, said: “Tracey was one of the long-term threads of local life that weaves our neighbourhood together, and she probably had no idea.”
Locals say Tracey had grown up near Sandringham Road, before moving to Clapton Park at the age of 14 where she worked in a beauty salon on the corner of Dalston Lane. Her family are believed to live in Kent. Efforts are being made to reach out by the community.
Rob Taliesin-Owen, a sound designer from Hackney, spoke to Tracey every day for the past eight years as he went about his daily life.
He told the Citizen: “A few weeks ago I was on a run and there were flowers on her spot.
“I stood there for 20 or 30 minutes and people were slamming on their breaks to stop and come to and talk to me. I hadn’t seen her in a few days and everyone was fearing the worst.
“It became apparent that we have a community, and the nexus is Tracey.”
Hoping to bring the community together Mr Taliesin-Owen set up a Whatsapp groupchat, placing a sign by ‘Tracey’s spot’ with a QR code to allow people to join. Within a week there were more than 200 members.
He said: “There was an outpouring of grief and love. Tracey had a compassion about her. She could sense when I was having a difficult time and had this kindness that was extraordinary. After setting up the Whatsapp I realised how many others felt the same.
“She had a genius level of emotional intelligence and kindness. That is what has touched us all, a soulfulness that transcends words and we all felt it.”
Through the Whatsapp group, a £2,400 crowdfunding campaign was set up to raise money for a memorial bench or plaque to honour Tracey.
Mr Taliesin-Owen said: “When you think about people with clear family ties and a home, they pass on and you remember them with a funeral and photos in homes.
“What happens when someone on the street dies? That is Tracey’s corner and there needs to be a permanent way of remembering her. She can’t vanish.”
The GoFundMe page explains plans to fund a permanent memorial tree, bench or mosaic created by local artists to remember Tracey.
The £2,400 target aims to cover the memorial as well as a “significant” donation to a local homelessness charity with the hope of naming a bed at a Hackney hostel in Tracey’s memory.
James Plunkett, 42, who lives a short walk from Lower Clapton Road, said: “Tracey reminded us all about the human side of homelessness. There’s a collective sense of understanding the importance of connecting with folk in challenging times and stopping to have that conversation.
“What really captured people was that Tracey was amazingly and inspiringly positive and kind. It radiated from her, she would chat with anyone who would come past.”
Plans are also underway to organise a vigil in Clapton Park for Tracey in the coming weeks.
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