Knife victim's family to run Nottingham support centre
A support service for families whose relatives have been murdered or violently killed has opened in Nottingham.
The Jason Spencer Trust will run the service at a new centre in the Arboretum neighbourhood.
It is the result of years of work by the mother and stepfather of Jason Spencer, who was stabbed to death.
Jason's stepfather John Greensmith said the service will offer help to people from across the East Midlands.
"We are not counsellors but we offer support, advice and friendship and if a family needs more professional help we will signpost them to agencies that will help them," Mr Greensmith said.
He said people who have lost a family member in a violent attack want advice from them because "we have learned from experience not from textbooks".
Jason was attacked after an argument over a ripped jacket near his home in Sherwood.
Several events have been organised in Jason's memory, including an annual pool tournament and a fundraising campaign to develop a sports ground in Nottingham.
Residents in Sherwood raised £60,000 to transform land on Valley Road into a park called the Jason Spencer Sports Ground in 2011.
Jason's killer, Reuben Valentine of Sherwood, who was also 17, was jailed for a minimum 16 years.