Aubrey Quinn
Article from Rise Magazine
The year was 1999, and Aubrey Quinn was facing a task that terrified him.
He was shaking and sweating with anxiety. His heart raced. His mouth was dry. He would have done almost anything to avoid the job ahead – speaking to a small group of primary school children about a holiday programme in Waitakere.
These days Aubrey is an accomplished public speaker, often called upon to speak about his journey with bipolar disorder, and about recovery, wellness and employment for people with mental illness.
For the past 11 years he has worked in sport and education, and is currently working in the mental health sector helping people develop careers and recover from mental illness. He is a husband and father.
In 2008 Aubrey and Dame Susan Devoy fronted the Like Minds Like Mine television campaign, challenging friends, whānau and employers to be more inclusive and less discriminatory towards people with mental illness.
It’s an area Aubrey is more than willing to speak up about, wanting to help others with mental illness and disability gain the same sort of opportunities he did.
But back on that day in 1999, as Aubrey was taking his first tentative steps back into the world after several years of debilitating mental illness, the seemingly simple task of speaking to children almost paralysed him with dread.
The thing that got Aubrey through that ordeal was the support of his managers and colleagues at Sport Waitakere, where he had secured a position through the Mainstream Employment Programme.
“Sport Waitakere’s operations manager Tu Nualiatia was a rugby player, a man who gave me the strength to step outside my comfort zone. He did not have to say a word – he just stood beside me.
“Mark Iverson, the CEO, shared his own experience with me about delivering a key note address at a conference, when he needed to sit down part way through his speech as he lost his train of thought, and it took everything for him not to run out of the room.
“Two different approaches and examples of ways they embraced my challenges.”
Aubrey croaked his way through the brief speech, forgot to mention key details, and felt a massive rush of elation and achievement as he and Tu drove back to the office. It was a small yet significant step.
The Mainstream Employment Programme is a two-year stepping stone into independent work for people with disabilities. With subsidies and support, it helps state sector employers create jobs for people whose barriers mean they are unable to secure a job on their own. With the help and goodwill of co-workers, people gain the skills, experience and – especially in Aubrey’s case – confidence to compete for jobs in the labour market.
“The team at Sport Waitakere must have rolled their eyes when I sat down at the first team meeting and disclosed my mental health recovery story,” said Aubrey.
“Diagnosis of bipolar with psychotic symptoms, a compulsory stay under the Mental Health Act, periods of psychosis, mania and depression, anti-psychotic medication, not to mention burns and skin grafts to my legs.”
However, instead of judging him, Aubrey’s Sport Waitakere colleagues got alongside him and supported his introduction to the workplace.
“They were simply great people, developing plans alongside me, offering kind words and encouragement when I was off-track.
“My experience of mental health really affected my confidence and having people show confidence in me was a big thing. Knowing that they thought I could do it, and then actually doing it was important. It made me realise what I was capable of.”
Aubrey says the job at Sport Waitakere was a life-changing opportunity, combined with a lot of support from his wife, friends, family and colleagues.
“I regained my hope that I could serve in a workplace and found a passion for helping and serving others, which had always been there, yet for a time was lost.
“I gained employment and communication skills, the confidence to take up opportunity, to take responsibility, to be held accountable and to learn from my mistakes.
“I reconnected to life, found purpose and found hope for a brighter future.”
That future included a full-time job with the Halberg Trust, followed by a position at Sport Bay of Plenty.
Dame Susan Devoy, who employed Aubrey when she was chief executive of Sport Bay of Plenty, said he brought a wealth of insight to both clients and colleagues about tolerance, patience, empathy, support and looking after people.
Working with Aubrey was an experience that led Dame Susan to become an advocate for employing people with experience of mental illness, appearing with Aubrey in the Like Minds Like Mine television campaign.
“Aubrey was part of creating a culture that you could never buy,” Dame Susan says. “He challenged us all the time to think about how we could help others… And he challenged our expectations of people – because really we all come to the table with different issues.”
She said the key thing for employers and staff is to be open and to talk.
“Nothing is unachievable. Manage it, just as you would manage any illness.”
Mental Health Foundation research shows that people with experience of mental illness can and should be actively encouraged to work. The research shows that where employers do not discriminate, the effect of mental illness on a person’s employment is usually minimal.
Dame Susan’s advice for other employers is to:
- make it your business to find out about the condition people have. Ask them what it means to them
- ask the person what support they need
- normalise as much as possible – people don’t want sympathy
- build policies in your workplace that respect people’s unique differences
- be flexible and find ways to do things differently.
Over the past ten years, Aubrey says he has seen up-close the challenges faced by disabled people and their families, during his work for the Halberg Trust and then Sport Bay of Plenty as a sports opportunity advisor for disabled people.
These days, Aubrey is “serving his apprenticeship” in the mental health sector, working at Turning Point Trust in Tauranga. As a mental health support worker, he helps people who have experienced mental illness develop their careers and gain understanding of mental health recovery.
“For me the joy is in seeing people discovering meaning, focusing on their talents and making sense out of what can be a very difficult time. It’s a rewarding role that focuses on supportive relationships.
Aubrey says having supportive friends, family, mental health professionals, employers, colleagues and an “incredible” wife who advocated for him in those early years, made a huge and positive difference.
“That is why I try to stand alongside people in the same way that Tu and others once stood alongside me.”
