One mum’s months-long ordeal to find out how her son died in a homeless hostel: ‘I need answers’

The mother of a homeless former Big Issue vendor who died five months ago is still searching for answers to how he lost his life.

Richard Sanders, 56, died on 14 May at a hostel run by Riverside Housing Support in Brixton, South London.

But his mother Debby Wakeham, 76, from Luton, didn’t learn about his death until nine days later and has, so far, been unable to find out how he died. She contacted the Big Issue to help her in her desperate search for answers.

“I really don’t know [Riverside haven’t been upfront about what happened]. I’m at a loss to really think,” said Wakeham. 

“The only thing I can think of is that they really didn’t have next of kin details, which I find extremely hard to believe. They probably assume that people like Richard are just sort of dregs to be dumped. In fact, one of his friends said hostels like that are a dumping ground for people like Richard.

“So they probably assumed that somebody with his kind of needs and lifestyle didn’t have anybody. They didn’t care.”

A former forklift driver, Sanders previously sold the Big Issue magazine across London at Elephant and Castle and Waterloo, his mother Wakeham said. “He loved selling the magazine and built up a good rapport with his clients,” she added.

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Described as a “Jekyll and Hyde character” by Wakeham, Sanders had battled alcohol and drug addiction and mental health issues before he was housed in the Riverside hostel in November.

His mother Debby visited him, leaving her contact details on the visitor’s sign-in form when she dropped off his Christmas presents in December.

The pair chatted on the phone every few days but Wakeham phoned the hostel several times on 22 and 23 May after not being able to get in contact with her son.

A manager at the hostel eventually told her son had died nine days later after Wakeham contacted Riverside over the phone.

Wakeham told Big Issue she wasn’t able to collect some of Sanders’ belongings until 4 June after staff told her she couldn’t enter his room for “hygiene reasons” due to the presence of bodly fluids.

But, five months on, Debby is no clearer on how her son died. The matter is with the coroner’s office but the sequence of events has left Debby devastated and on a quest for answers.

She told Big Issue: “I haven’t got the words to express what it’s like not having answers. The only thing that’s holding me together is pursuing this. I suppose it’s a campaign to get answers. It would mean everything. I owe it to him. I really do. I don’t think he should be just written off or thrown away and forgotten. He was a human being of infinite value as we all are.

“It would mean a great deal to have answers. I need answers. It’s eating me alive not to have them. Richard has a brother so I promised his brother I would stay around for him. It’s a bit like Schrödinger’s cat. I feel simultaneously dead and alive.  I want to be dead to be with Richard, but I also want to be alive to be with his brother, David. So I promised David I’m going to stay alive.”

A spokesperson for Riverside told Big Issue: “We want to send our condolences to Mr Sanders’ mother, family and friends.

“Upon Mr Sanders’ passing we immediately contacted the police to inform them and requested that they contact his next of kin as is standard procedure in the case of an unexpected death. In these circumstances, we believe this sad news is best delivered in person as per police procedure. 

“After receiving a call from Mr Sanders’ mother concerned for his welfare, we first followed up with the police and later made the decision to inform her of his passing ourselves. 

“We spoke with Mr Sanders’ mother to arrange for packaging of his belongings and she has since collected these.

“We understand how difficult this time is for Mr Sanders’ mother and have previously provided her with the contact details for Southwark Coroner’s Office, where her son’s body was taken.

“As coroners do not share cause of death with housing providers unless an investigation is underway, we recommend she contacts them directly for further clarity.”

Debby came to the Big Issue for help in finding answers. This week Museum of Homelessness (MoH) revealed that 1,611 people died while homeless in 2024.

The grassroots group has been running the Dying Homeless Project count since 2019, shining a light on the people who lose their lives on the street or, like Richard, die in emergency accommodation or other insecure settings.

MoH has been working with Debby and Big Issue to help her find out how her son died.

Sanders will also be remembered at the annual service of commemoration for people who died while homeless at St Martin in the Fields on 13 November with Debby set to attend.

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