Volunteer's work at prison in memory of his brother

Jason Gleave wants to help the prison service understand the needs of prisoners with mental illness

A Jersey man says he wants to continue volunteering at the island's prison service in memory of his brother.

Jason Gleave is a volunteer with the Jersey charity Focus on Mental Illness which has started working with prisons to provide more support to inmates.

Jason's brother, Justin Gleave, was sent to Exeter Prison in Devon 40 years ago for stealing a car during a psychotic episode caused by his schizophrenia.

His condition deteriorated rapidly while he was serving his sentence and he took his own life after spending many years in and out of psychiatric institutions and struggling with homelessness.

Justin Gleave suffered from schizophrenia and took his own life after his condition got worse following his time in prison

The prison service says there are 19 inmates who are under the care of its Mental Health In Reach Team which is based at HMP La Moye and 38 inmates are on medication associated with mental health conditions.

Mr Gleave, who now lives in Jersey, said his brother "was ravaged with schizophrenia" and his time in prison "had a profound effect when I went in to see him".

He said he was encouraged by the welcome he received on his first visit to the island's prison as a volunteer.

"I had my first visit to La Moye Prison earlier this year which I found very constructive, very useful, as the staff were incredibly engaged and very welcoming," he said.

Mr Gleave and Focus on Mental Illness want to further their work with the prison service to provide more support for inmates once they are released.

Stephen McCrimmon from Focus on Mental Illness would like the charity to continue working with the prison service

Stephen McCrimmon from Focus on Mental Illness joined Mr Gleave on the visit to the prison.

He said they were very grateful to have been given access to staff and prisoners and it was important "to try and build some relationships".

Mr McCrimmon added: "We want to continue this relationship with the prison to understand and hear from those inmates that have significant mental health problems and maybe we can provide workshops."

The Focus on Mental Illness charity works to improve the lives of people affected by severe mental illness as well as their families.

The prison service confirmed it would hold more events with partner organisations like the charity to help prisoners

Focus on Mental Illness and Mr Gleave were invited to the prison as part of the Closer to Home project.

Laura Kangas-Hamon, local services manager at Customer and Local Services, said working with partners like the charity allowed it to "provide bespoke solutions to often complex issues".

She confirmed that more Closer to Home events would happen next year.

Gemma Lofthouse, head of reducing reoffending at La Moye Prison Justice and Home Affairs, said: "These pathways are integral to our reducing reoffending efforts."