| Pete's Story |
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His
drive and determination may have been built from the adversity he experienced
in his early life.
Peter
has severe dyslexia. Throughout his entire school life all written material needed
to be read out loud to him by someone else. Although young boys do like to stand out in the crowd – this was the
kind of attention that bought Peter nothing but embarrassment and torment.
Peter
stuck it out though and went on to become a jeweller working mainly on
high-class manufacturing. He has handled some incredibly expensive jewels in
his time. However, Peter says that the most valuable jewel that he has ever
seen came along 11 years ago, his daughter, Ruby.
Unbeknown
to Peter, he had bipolar disorder by this time. It just went
undiagnosed because of his positive outlook. However, when his
family unit broke down and he felt like he had lost Ruby, the bipolar disorder
took control and he really hit rock bottom. Peter tells us. ‘I couldn’t get out
of bed for days at a time and didn’t have the energy or motivation to do
anything’.
The
doctors put Peter on heavy medication to manage his condition. However it came
with serious side effects. He put on 6 stone in 6 months; he lost his drive and
energy. His creativity faded; he could no longer write music and the demands of
jewellery manufacturing were no longer an option either.
In
true Peter style, he dragged himself out of bed to study horticulture at TAFE. Peter
is now a valued supported employee of the Site Services team in Sydney where he
proudly looks after the garden among other things.
‘Working at House With No Steps gets me out of bed in the mornings because it is a friendly place to go. They provide the understanding and flexibility regarding work conditions where open employment wouldn’t’. Peter is not ready for open employment – yet. Although he is still struggling with the ups and downs, we encourage him to move forward positively, one step at a time.
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