Bernie Sessions was Mayfield’s renowned Man in the Doorway.

To passersby, he was the friendly bloke who would wave at them, day and night, as he sat on an overturned blue milk crate outside his place. To his family, Bernie was the beloved brother and son suffering paranoid schizophrenia. He took his own life on June 1 last year. Bernie was aged 45.

“It doesn’t get easier, it just gets harder,” said Bernie’s mother, Pauline Sessions.

Pauline and her husband Ron had just come from praying for their youngest son at Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church in Shortland, where Bernie was farewelled last June. At home, they keep a small shrine, which includes cloth flowers and a teddy bear, just two of the tributes left by strangers on the footpath a year ago, as word spread that The Man in the Doorway had died.   

“I walk past the shrine, and I can’t believe that’s all there is of him,” Pauline said. 

But that isn’t all.

To mark the first anniversary of her older brother’s death, Jenny Allen had created a memorial around the doorway. A blue milk crate cradled a photo of Bernie and a candle, and a bouquet of balloons flapped in the wind. Jenny had also strung up a message spelt out in gold and silver balloons: Love U Bernie.

As passing motorists saw the balloon sign, they tooted their horn, just as they once had done to Bernie. Only now it was his family waving back, in appreciation.

“I think Bernie helps light the way, and he helps motivate me, because things could have been different on that day [a year ago], and we wouldn’t have to be standing here,” Jenny said.

Through her actions, Jenny Allen has been honouring Bernie each and every day for the past year. 

She was angry, arguing her brother didn’t receive the mental health help he needed. So she set out to ensure others, and those who love and care for them, could get help. Jenny Allen has become an advocate for mental health reform, joining advisory committees both locally and with the state government, and participating in conferences.

Her goal over the next 12 months, she said, was “to reduce the stigma, to get people talking about their lived experiences, and to keep pushing for mental health reform. We’re just at the beginning of the journey.

“The Man in the Doorway is here to stay.” 

In Jenny Allen’s arms snuggled another tribute to Bernie. Her daughter, born 12 weeks ago, was named Olive. Bernie’s middle name was Oliver. 

“She brings joy,” said Olive’s mum, “at a time when there’s been so much loss.”  

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