Heart-breaking loss leads to 'Glade’s Law' campaign and new charity in memory of woman who look her own life

Friends and family of a 23-year-old who took her own life in Portsmouth are working hard to honour her memory and raise awareness for people struggling with a mental health crisis.

Care worker and football player Glade Clarke took her own life August 26 after struggling with her mental health. But now her loved ones have launched a campaign calling for better assessments and potentially life-saving support to try prevent other people from doing the same.

Her friends say that in the days following up to her death, she had tried to seek medical help from the emergency mental health care team but was sent home due to there not being a hospital bed available anywhere in England for an inpatient admission.

This has prompted Glade’s friend Tegan Hide, to start a campaign to introduce Glade’s Law, which would require mental health services to conduct stronger assessments and provide support to people experiencing a mental health crisis in every instance.

Ms Hide said: “Glade was so much more than the circumstances surrounding her death. She was a person with such a welcoming funny personality, she had an infectious laugh that made anyone smile.

“She had a real love for football and spent many years playing football, she worked as a care worker and delivered the best care, she welcomed everyone with open arms and always knew the right thing to say.

“Glade had attended appointments with mental health services over time. Unfortunately, despite seeking help, her mental state continued to deteriorate.

“She eventually went to A&E herself. She told them that she did not feel safe in her own mind and asked to be sectioned and was willing to travel wherever she had to if that meant she was safe. She was told there was no mental health bed available anywhere in the country.

“It is incredibly difficult to come to terms with the fact that someone can recognise that they are struggling, take the step of going to hospital and openly say that they do not feel safe in their own mind, yet still not get access to the hospital care they need.

“I feel that if Glade had been given the opportunity to be admitted to hospital and receive the support she needed, she might still be here today.”

The News has approached the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services, for comment.

Ms Hide has registered a petition with the UK Government to pass Glade’s Law, which will ensure greater protections for vulnerable people suffering a crisis.

“I started this campaign because I cannot change what happened to Glade, but I can try to make a difference for other people who might find themselves in a similar situation,” she said.

“I do not want another person to reach out for help and be left without the care they desperately need because there is no bed available.

“Glade’s Law is about making sure that people are heard, taken seriously and supported when they are at their most vulnerable. It is about trying to prevent other families and friends from experiencing the same heartbreak and unanswered questions.

“I want Glade’s name to be associated with change, and I want something positive to come from the loss of someone who meant so much. I cannot bring her back, but I can continue to fight for Glade’s Law in the hope that it helps protect other people.”

While the petition remains under review, Ms Hide is encouraging people to support the campaign online.

She said: “In the meantime, people can support the campaign by following Glade’s Law on social media, sharing the campaign posts, helping raise awareness of her story and talking about why better support for people in mental health crises matters.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We were deeply saddened to learn of Glade Clarke's death, and our thoughts remain with her family, friends and all those affected.

“We are in contact with Glade's family. Listening to patients, families and carers is a vital part of how we learn and improve, and we are committed to hearing and understanding Glade’s family's experiences and concerns.”

Alongside the petition, members of Ms Clarke’s various football teams have come together to form a new charity to provide support to local mental health services.

One of the head of The Clarke Foundation, Chris England, said: “Glade played football for me for six or seven years.

“We had a charity match and we thought ‘how can we take this further?’ We decided to set up a charity, we’ve been going about four weeks. We want to work with young people in the sports industry and people who are struggling, we just want to help.

“To start with, our main aim is to help other organisations run by the NHS. We will ask them what they need and give them money we raise. We would like to set up our own facility down the line, where we can have a meeting area in Portsmouth where people can come away from their situations and feel safe.

“Ideally we want to save somebody. Every person we can help and save is a miracle.

“After her funeral we set off balloons and there were about 150 people there that she could have spoken to, but unfortunately she didn’t speak to anybody, so we want to provide someone for people to talk to. We want to do it in her name so she isn’t forgotten.”

The Clarke Foundation will hold another charity football match on January 9, which would have been Ms Clarke’s 24th birthday. “We want to try and do one on her birthday every year,” said Mr England.

“There are a lot of girls from the football club who want to do something.”

It is also hosting a charity bake sale on Friday October 30 outside OneBeyond Waterlooville to raise money for the foundation, and are making plans to host a black tie fundraising event in the future.

More information about The Clarke Foundation can be found here, and you can read more about the Glade’s Law campaign here.

If you are struggling, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 for free, anytime day or night, from any phone.