Former Corby rough sleeper is man who died in Pages Walk incident

The man who died at Pages Walk in Corby last Tuesday has been named as Normunds Ulmanis.

The Lativan national, 45, died on June 2 at a home of multiple occupancy in Corby’s old village.

Police say they are not treating his death as suspicious and that he died of injuries consistent with a fall.

Normunds was well-known in the town’s rough sleeping community although it is understood he had been housed for a few months before he died. His brother has also been homeless in the past and both were helped by Corby Council’s homeless outreach worker Martin Sawers and other agencies.

Normunds’ death follows that of Graham Cameron, who died suddenly in Coronation Park in Corby’s town centre on May 22. He is the third member of Corby’s rough sleeping community to have died since lockdown began on March 23.

Father of two, David Matthew, 39, who had been homeless for some years died on April 15 at the Eazzzy Rooms hotel above Decades in Corby Old Village. His death was also not treated as suspicious.

Homeless charity Corby Nightlight has posted a tribute to both Graham and Normunds on their Facebook page yesterday (June 7).

It says: “We would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Graham Cameron and Normunds Ulmanis, both of whom have unfortunately passed away recently.

“We were trying to formulate the best way to express our condolences regarding the loss of Graham, then to hear the news of Normunds’ passing has sent shockwaves through those who know these gentlemen.

“Both were characters and well known within the homeless community and are a huge loss to many peoples lives.

“We would like to once again express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of these gentleman, or thoughts are with you at this time.”

Graham Cameron’s funeral is being held on Thursday (June 11) and his family is asking people who knew him to go to Coronation Park at 11.30am to say their goodbyes afterwards and celebrate his life.

Since lockdown Government has provided funds to local authorities to pay for accommodation to help rough sleepers get off the streets and out of the way of the virus.

Corby Council now works in partnership with the Corby Homeless Project which is run by East Northants Community Services to provide a homeless shelter in the town. There are also a number of community groups that help the town’s rough sleeping community with food and comfort.

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