LCAP Statement on Christelle Pardo’s Death

Posted on | February 1, 2010 | 3 Comments

On June 13th 2009, Christelle Pardo and her son, Kayjah, tragically died falling from the sixth floor of one of Hackney’s temporary accommodation hostels. The reason? All of Christelle Pardo’s benefits were cut off by the Department for Work and Pensions; after her application for Income Support was rejected she did not receive any of the help she was owed by Hackney Council. Christelle Pardo was left with no money to feed herself and her baby between December 2008 and June 2009 because of a bureaucratic loophole the DWP used to withhold the money she needed to survive. The tragedy here is the loss of two human beings. Wherever it occurs, under whatever circumstance, such a loss is unforgivable and unacceptable.

Many people are forced to be at the mercy of institutions like the DWP and Social Services for pennies to survive on. While the amount of money they give us is small, they are also able to take it away, leaving families in bureaucratic limbo and often without even the bare minimum needed to survive, let alone a roof over their heads. Tens of thousands of Britons suffer such extreme stress on a weekly basis; this is not an isolated incident. LCAP has worked with countless families who were always one pay-cheque away from the street, one income support payment away from next week’s groceries. Most of us will experience this situation at some point in our lives, and that fundamental insecurity is what binds our interests together.

There are many ways to kill a person, they can be subtle or obvious, quick or slow. What is certain is that such deaths can be avoided, just as Christelle Pardo’s could have been. That is why it is important to bring her killers to justice. Bureaucratic mismanagement and under-funding mustn’t continue to be factors in the deaths of so many people. The resources that could have been life-saving are neglected, the funding put into useless government bailouts and expenses. Instead, more money should be spent on quality-enhancing services like higher welfare rates, more council housing, and a serious improvement of DWP care standards.

LCAP is determined to stand by anybody and everybody struggling to win concrete gains for themselves, their families and everyone else. LCAP will stand with those who knew Christelle Pardo in demanding justice and will fight with anyone experiencing the same abuse from the DWP.

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