Stephen Lovell

MORE needs to be done in Camden’s hostels to protect vulnerable residents from a drug and drink culture, says the family of a man found dead in one of the borough’s best known.

Stephen Lovell, 47, died on his first day back at Arlington House in Camden Town after seven weeks’ “sorting himself out” at his sister’s place in Dartmouth Park.

His health had spiralled downhill after being moved into the hostel and that he had become “overwhelmed” by crack cocaine which his relatives say was openly sold and used in the hostel.

Sharon Lovell, his sister, said: “I think the people that run those sort of places they think people who are in there don’t have family. They think no one loves them. But they bloody do.

“When he got offered the place. They told us they do this, they do that. It sounded great. But actually it wasn’t. We were told by the police it was very quick and painless. Maybe some heart thing and something to do with drugs – not suicide – but we don’t know yet for sure.

“But if it does come back that his heart has packed up, it will be because of the drugs. “A lot of people get into drugs when they’re young. But it wasn’t like that with Stephen. We lost our mum and our sister through drugs. It took over him after he moved in there. Someone in that hostel was selling hard drugs to him. I just feel like they are responsible as he was getting the drugs there.”

The family told how he had come to stay with them in Chester Road, Dartmouth Park, for the last seven weeks of his life after becoming “overwhelmed” by the drug culture in the hostel.

Ms Lovell said: “After the seven weeks with us he was doing really well. He hadn’t touched a drink. He had put his weight back on. He left us on the Thursday and he wasn’t supposed to stay over that night. I had his dinner ready for him at home, but he didn’t come back.”

She added: “There was not really any compassion from them at the hostel. There was nothing. We found out from the police. I understand it is a tough place to work, but they need to be more human when this kind of thing happens.”

Mr Lovell, who lived in Camden all his life, went to St Michaels and St Richard of Chichester.

As a young man he liked to play football and thought he was “the best striker in the world”. A big fan of animals, he had been pinning his hopes on getting his own dog if he got his own place in Camden.

“He was going to call it Zola,” said Ms Lovell, adding: “He had a kind heart and despite his situation he would give you his last pound. He loved his nephews, he never had his own children. He always used to say Sharon, your boys are enough for me. He loved Chelsea, was a big fan, and Only Fools and Horses. We were very close from young, because we both lost our mum and our sister.”

She said her brother had ended up in the hostel after losing his job and had been diagnosed with depression, adding: “He was working for DPD loading up the vans. But he lost that job and he lost where he was living. He never had a council tenancy.He came and stayed with us for a while, but we didn’t always have the room for him.”

Mr Lovell had won a compensation payout after his jaw was broken during a dispute in Arlington House.

Arlington House in Camden Town

His sister’s partner Paul McCluskey, a former care worker in the council’s old Parker Street hostel in Covent Garden, said Stephen would have been fearful of going back to the hostel after the incident but was never offered an alternative.

He added : “I just think these places they are like a meat grinder. I just think they churn them out. A lot of people say they prefer to be out on the streets than in them places. “I don’t think they really help people get back on their feet. In them places, you have parasites who prey on people too. You get cliques, they target people. It’s hard to keep drugs out of a place, but you have to know how to read people.”

A spokesperson at Riverside who run Arlington House said: “We are deeply saddened by our customer’s passing. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.

“At Arlington we provide trauma informed support and accommodation to people with complex needs who are affected by homelessness, many of whom experience mental health and/or substance misuse issues.

“This includes working with external specialists such as Change Grow Live, who support our customers by making direct referrals into treatment, groups and activities based on an individual’s needs.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones of Stephen Lovell. Drug dealing is not toerated in any of our commissioned or in-house hostel services – we, and commissioned providers, will work with the police on any suspected criminal activity.”