Jasper Thomson previously used Together’s Criminal Justice Community Link Services and and had experienced issues with alcohol abuse and struggling to access mental health support that led to problems with offending that meant he came into contact with the criminal justice system. He first became aware of Together when he was recommended the service by his solicitor as he was facing further prison charges relating to assault. He described how situations he had found himself in had previously escalated because of his problems with alcohol and how that had impacted his mental health causing him to react badly to the authorities when placed in custody.
Jasper had struggled with his mental health for a lot of his life and felt things had gotten worse with being in prison leading him to self-harm at some stages, describing himself as being “in a sorry state”. He had been sectioned in the past while in police custody and hadn’t been aware this could happen in a criminal justice setting and thought it would only be done in hospital or the community describing the whole process as confusing and disorientating.
The first contact Jasper had with Together was meeting Honor Sibthorp Protts in Highbury Magistrates Court and he told Honor his story and circumstances so she could document that. He was then referred to Community Link Worker Paul Richardson and in the film below Jasper describes the way Paul worked alongside him and how it “changed his life”:
Thank you Together for Mental Wellbeing!
Jasper
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