Profile: Paul Harvey

Hi, my name's Paul. I work for an organization called Challenge Trust, a mental health NGO service supporting people with mental illness. As part of that support Challenge Trust has set up a Family/ Whanau Service in West Auckland, supporting families of those affected by mental illness.

The service developed helps families in key areas such as advocacy, training, peer support and resources. It is hoped that through these key areas of service, families may become more empowered and walk alongside their loved ones on the recovery journey.

What I love about this job is that it gives me the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. I do this by supporting them through the process of finding information, advocating their issues with different community mental health teams and overall offering them a voice in what can sometimes feel like a very dark place.

I feel that families need an opportunity to learn about the sector and be given relevant information. Then they can make informed decisions on what is right for them and their family members. I feel that this is the most important aspect for families. As we well know- knowledge is power. I believe it is important for families to be given the opportunity to learn what the sector is all about, what their loved ones illness is and how it may affect them.

Paul Harvey

Page last updated: 26 November 2009