Pam cared for outcasts from the welfare state

Pam Watson died on May 25.

She was a polarising Ka¯ piti personality. There was that unkempt appearance. And the two or three equally unkempt men who followed her around like little children.

A reminder of something out of the world of Charles Dickens and the social alienation caused by the industrial revolution. And yes, there was the reaction from the soap-scented well dressed bourgeoisie.

You could understand the businesses who made it clear she can buy their food but she, and her gaggle of odorous dependants, were not allowed to eat within the premises.

You can also understand the frustration of the long string of drivers caught behind Pam’s rubbish-packed old car crawling along SH1. The police told me that she held the national record for the number of speeding tickets — all for driving well below the speed limit! She was frequently accused of preying upon the homeless and mentally sick and syphoning off their welfare benefits. She was not a registered social accommodation provider but her two Paraparaumu properties housed a number of the homeless and mentally challenged.

What is not acceptable is the cruel treatment inflicted upon her by sections of our community. Stones and food thrown at her. She was spat at and verbally abused. A boulder was thrown through her car window. A swastika painted across her fence. In 2010 someone posted a Facebook hate page with 337 supporters dedicated to encouraging the harassment of Pam and her dependants.

If truth is a kaleidoscope, Pam has an inheritance to a share in that. Under this negative public perception of her is a tender loving reality that sheltered a number of the outcasts of society.

We don’t know the life journeys made by them. The machine we call orderly society had spat them out as broken minds and souls. Minds and souls that took shelter under her wing. Until today I don’t know what it was about Pam but these outcasts were drawn to her.

Her two properties, where she housed them, were not compliant for social housing accommodation.

In 2006, one was closed down by council because it was deemed dangerous. Public donations were used to clean up and sort the mess. In 2014, the other property caught fire and, according to the fire service, the five made homeless could have perished. Social welfare officers had, a number of times, taken some of of her ‘clients’ and rehoused them only to have them run back to Pam. In her own fashion she looked after them, managing their finances and medication. You can rationalise this by saying it’s a form of codependency. Whatever the benchmark of civilised existence you use, the fact remains she was at the core of a community bubble she had created. For dropouts from the welfare state . . . yes even the welfare state has dropouts. And her gaggle of co-dependents chose to live in that bubble. Is this telling us that for some a system of care, constructed by welfare state bureaucrats, may not have the human warmth and sense of community needed by those with damaged minds and broken souls?

But this strangely sad indictment of our society took a turn when in later years Pam’s own properties were taken over by some of her clients who booted her out. She would, with at least two of her loyal dependants end up sleeping in the car. She was known to use the Aquatic Centre to shower. The last time I saw her nicely cleaned up was when, some years ago, she was temporarily housed at a rest home after an operation to remove an infected toe. Sadly, I was not able to attend her funeral service because of a council meeting. Had I attended, and if I was asked to say a few words I would have chosen one of my favourites from the Good Book: “Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.”

And there were those who had not only thrown stones but a boulder through her home — her car. Pam Watson died on May 25. With her would have gone that bubble she had created.

What is not acceptable is the cruel treatment inflicted upon her by sections of our community.