A dad-of-two who spent months sleeping on the streets died from a drug overdose just days after finally moving into a flat of his own.
Darren Taylor’s mum said he was ‘getting back on his feet at the time’ when he suffered the fatal overdose at the age of 39 on September 28.
At an inquest into his death, held at South London Coroners Court on Monday (January 6), the court heard his life was on an upward trajectory after a long period of struggling with homelessness, having spent a lot of time in the day at Roundshaw’s Phoenix Centre to stay out of the cold and charge his phone as he slept rough at night.
Despite his battles with mental health and irregular bouts of depression, Darren’s family said he was not suicidal.
In a report read out at the inquest, his mum said: “He didn’t want to die.”
She added: “He was getting back on his feet at the time. He had been given a little flat, so things were picking up for him.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to Darren just weeks before his death, hearing at the start of September how he had been battling to survive while sleeping rough, finding warmth and friendship in Beehive Café at the Phoenix Centre.
Darren spent his whole life in Sutton and Croydon. Yet his numerous short spells in prison and mental health battles meant he lived a fractious life, which resulted in him sleeping rough for much of the last year leading up to his death.
While many people were enjoying the festive period at the end of 2023, Darren found himself on the streets of Sutton after a breakdown in his personal life.
He told the LDRS in September: “I could only it see it as an experience, if I saw it for what it was it would kill me. I spent Christmas Day last year in the alleyway on a bit of plywood, I could hear all my nieces, nephews and family having their Christmas dinner next door. It broke me so I had to leave, and that was the first time it really hit my heart. It’s just draining me a lot now.”
While Darren has lived briefly with his mother and in friends’ houses, he often resorted to sleeping in the Roundshaw Downs to escape the dangers of the streets.
However, he recalled Christmas 2023 as a particular turning point in his life — a moment that made him realise he was ready to change.
These experiences led Darren to start engaging with his local community in Roundshaw, which he felt previously shunned him due to his chequered past.
Initially, to seek warmth in the cold winter months, Darren began to visit Beehive Café, which is much loved locally as a place where Roundshaw residents can meet, chat, and find help with their everyday problems.
Darren soon discovered this and began sharing his problems with the cafe’s staff.
With their help, he started to reintegrate into the community. By the summer, he had helped at the local church and was an active team member behind the popular Roundshaw Summer Fayre.
Despite not being able to work due to his diagnosed depression, ADHD, psychosis and antisocial behaviour disorder, Darren told the LDRS of his eagerness to ‘give back’. He also wanted to rebuild his relationship with his six and 12-year-old children.
Yet throughout this time, one of Darren’s biggest challenges was the lack of a place he could call his own.
He felt strongly that his criminal past, addiction issues and mental health battles meant he was in acute danger while living out on the streets.
He told the LDRS: “I just need a bit of space to get out of the way and get on with my life. It could be so easy to fall back into that life.”
After the LDRS highlighted issues he faced in securing a place to live, reporting how he felt as if he was going ‘in circles’ in his requests for a home, Darren was offered a flat within two weeks of his story being made public.
He was offered a place in Pollards Hill, where he could stay on his own and try to rebuild his life.
But Darren was tragically found dead in the early hours of Saturday, September 28, at a friend’s house on Vanguard Way in Roundshaw.
The inquest heard how police officers had discovered Darren curled up on the floor of the flat after the friends he was with dialled 999.
Darren was pronounced dead on the scene, with the coroner deciding later that the cause of his death was from mixed drug toxicity.
Toxicology reports noted high levels of illicit opioids in his blood, alongside prescribed drugs, alcohol and cannabinoids.
An opioid with a 100 per cent greater strength than morphine was also found in Darren’s system. Protonitazene, a synthetic opioid, has only recently emerged on the illicit drugs market.
Roundshaw residents who knew Darren have been mourning the loss of a community member, especially given his progress towards a more settled life.
His death, they feel, is a reminder of the difficulty of escaping addiction and a precarious living situation.