Peter is not afraid of hard work. Before his bipolar disorder set in, he had a budding career as a jeweller and was also a very talented musician and songwriter to top it off. Unbeknown to Pete, he had bipolar disorder. He has always had a positive attitude towards life but when his family unit broke down, the bipolar disorder took control and he really hit rock bottom. "I couldn’t get out of bed for days at a time and didn’t have the energy or motivation to do anything", said Pete. His creativity faded and the demands of jewellery manufacturing and open employment were no longer an option. After studying horticulture at TAFE Pete is now a valued member of the House with No Steps site maintenance team in Sydney where he proudly looks after the garden among other things. "For someone with a mental illness, work gives you a reason to keep on going”, said Pete. Supported employment with an ADE works for him because of the flexibility.
"ADE’s understand the challenges that people with mental health issues can face. A boss in open employment wouldn’t handle coming in with no reason for being late or having no reason for being off work".