Yet his younger sister, Jenny Allen, vowed to honour her brother’s memory by pushing for changes to mental health care. As she has done since losing her brother, Mrs Allen is converting that vow into words, actions and a string of meetings in Newcastle and Sydney.

“I think Bernie would say, ‘Good on you, sis, you’re sticking up for the people who need it’,” said Mrs Allen, as she prepared for her first meeting as a participant on a family and carer advisory committee for the Hunter New England Mental Health Services.

Bernie Sessions was known as the “Man in the Doorway”, because that’s where he sat outside his Maitland Road unit, often with a beer in one hand while waving to passers-by with the other. Yet, as his sister said, behind that welcoming wave was a man battling paranoid schizophrenia.

Mrs Allen said just two days after she and her mother had sought help from local mental health services for Mr Sessions, he took his own life. Which is why she has been determined to turn private grief into public action, to try to prevent others families experiencing what hers has endured.

Mrs Allen said after her brother’s death, Hunter New England Mental Health Services had been eager to work with her and listen to her ideas about carers and loved ones being more involved.

She has joined two committees, the one she attended on Tuesday, and a clinical quality and patient care committee, as part of the Newcastle Mental Health Team’s work. Her first meeting with that group is on Wednesday.

“I’ve been passionate about mental health but have felt quite unheard,” Mrs Allen said. “Now it’s my opportunity to feel heard and validated.”

Dr Cath Wood, Hunter New England Health’s director of allied health, mental health services, said she was “absolutely delighted” Mrs Allen had joined, saying her experience would have an influence on policies, procedures and staff education.

Mrs Allen has also made a submission to a state government inquiry into the management of health care delivery in NSW. Her submission included eight recommendations, which she said were aimed at having the carer’s voice better heard when accessing help for a loved one. She has been invited to speak at a hearing at Parliament House in Sydney on Tuesday.  

As well as dealing with a tragedy in the family, Jenny Allen is experiencing joy. She is 20 weeks’ pregnant. She and her husband Richie, who have three sons, are expecting a girl. They’ve already chosen a name.

“We’re going to call her Olive, because Bernie’s middle name was Oliver,” she explained. 

“This feels like a gift from Bernie.”