Fatal stabbing rattles city’s homeless
There’s one photo of jordan jack morris circling the homeless community.
It’s out of focus, showing a thin, young man taking a selfie in front of a mirror.
As a summation of a life, it says little. morris died after he was allegedly stabbed by a 67-year-old man on march 10. the man appeared in court this week charged with murder, and has been released on bail.
there’s little publicly known about what led to the incident.
morris was 22 – quiet, his mates say – and part of their homeless whānau.
he kept his reasons for being on the street to himself.
his death notice says he was a “much loved” son, brother, grandson, uncle, nephew and cousin.
morris hung out with tom west regularly at tūranga, the city’s shiny new library.
there, he found comfort within its quiet open spaces, and fellowship in a safe environment.
often he would sleep outside its doors alongside his friends.
“i don’t know why he was homeless,” west says.
gmama ratu last saw morris at the library two days before he died.
he asked if he could borrow her phone charger and sat with her while he played a video game.
no longer homeless, ratu hugged jordan and gave him food, like she always did.
on his last evening, jordan went to the
Men’s night shelter at the city mission. at the time christchurch had been having some chillier evenings.
“Maybe he was cold?,” ratu ponders.
Whatever the reason, by 10pm that night he would be dead.
Morris’ death shocked the street community, but the manner in which he died did not, says stacey hemmingson, who has been homeless for three years. “it’s very sad.” connor, 30, has experienced all types of behaviour during his 10 years homeless, and knows where it’s safest to sleep.
“We live dangerous lives on the fringe,” he shrugs.
The city mission, he says, like all places Those living on the streets gather, isn’t always one of them. he has concerns about allowing different generations to mix. but city missioner corinne haines disagrees. she sees different age groups mixing and supporting each other as a strength. “we are really disappointed and distressed by this incident, but when you are dealing with the most vulnerable people in the city who are not coping with life, including some clients other agencies can’t care for, there is
Always a risk that an incident might happen,” haines says.
Worryingly, haines says many clients have multiple issues and the complexity of problems is increasing – causing some to be volatile, distrustful and reactionary, without thinking things through.
“We do our best to keep them safe, but ultimately they are responsible for their own actions.”
The mission will review the incident, haines said, and make improvements if required.