Tributes to homelessness campaigner who gave voice to the vulnerable

Tributes have been paid to a homelessness campaigner who gave a voice to the vulnerable during his time at the Windsor Homeless Project.

Murphy James worked for a number of years as manager of the homelessness charity with the key mission of improving the lives of the town’s rough sleepers.

He was a driving force in the charity’s major fundraisers, such as the Windsor Sleep Out, and provided vital support and advice for those facing mental health and addiction issues.

His death on Monday, July 28, at the age of just 41, has been met with an outpouring of love from the wider Windsor community.

A statement from the Windsor Homeless Project described his passion for helping those less fortunate in society as ‘truly infectious’.

The charity said: “He worked tirelessly to improve the lives of many rough sleepers and those at risk of homelessness, giving hope to those who had previously given up and supporting some of our most vulnerable members of the community on the journey to recovery.

“Murphy spoke up for those who didn’t have a voice and during his time with the Windsor Homeless Project he was able to achieve a great deal both for those he was helping and also for the project itself.”

Former Windsor Baptist Church minister Mark Richardson, co-founder of the Windsor Homeless Project, remembered Murphy as a man possessing a ‘massive heart’ for anyone who was excluded or marginalised.

He told the Express: “He got people’s trust and understood their issues and situations in way I never could have done.

“He was a very insightful, passionate and incredibly caring guy and was able to put that first hand experience into getting their voices heard.

“He worked tirelessly to give people their dignity back and show they were real human beings with a story to tell,” the former Windsor church minister added.

Murphy was a passionate defender of the town’s vulnerable community, particularly when the eyes of the world’s media descended on Windsor during a row over rough sleepers in the run-up to the Royal Wedding in 2018.

Michael Boyle, who stood for the Green Party in Windsor at the 2024 General Election, described Murphy as a ‘great friend’ of the homeless community who had a steadfast belief in their potential fort recovery and rehabilitation.

Alongside his work around homelessness, Murphy was also a talented musician and a familiar face around the open mic nights of Windsor.

Murphy, a father-of-three, left his role at the Windsor Homeless Project in 2018 and later moved away from the town to Yorkshire.

But his move did not come without one final kind gesture, as he offered to re-home a rescue dog previously belonging to Royal Borough councillor Alison Carpenter.

Murphy had been good friends with Alison’s late partner, Angus, who died in August 2021.

The Clewer and Dedworth East councillor said: “He often used to call him ‘our dog’ because we shared him together.”

She added: “He was a legend really in terms of getting the Windsor Homeless Project well known and making it a charity that everyone recognised.”