Paul Miners remembers little of the incident where he almost ended his own life.
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The Wollongong man is just happy to be here, after having spent two nights on a deserted beach clinging to life.
It has been two years since the failed suicide, but thanks to the support of TAFE and support workers, the 51-year-old has taken the courageous step of helping others battling mental illness.
Mr Miners has himself had a lifelong wrestle with mental illness.
That was "tested a lot" in February this year when his 26-year-old son took his own life while living in New Zealand.
Mr Miners blames the health system in NZ for his son's death but has vowed to do all he can here in Australia to help others struggling with their mental health.
And he credits the 2019 incident on Fairy Meadow beach as a positive turning point, even though as a result he has no feeling in his left arm and a brain injury that still affects him today.
"I don't dwell on it in a negative way," Mr Miners said.
"I look at what happened as a way to help other people because obviously I wasn't supposed to still be here.
"I now see it as I'm here to help others get through it. That's my biggest passion, to help people through it.
"I'm passionate about helping others and absolutely committed to break the stigma around mental health and giving a message of hope to people struggling.
"When you're in the mental health system, you can quite often feel like you're not understood and that you're not being seen as a person first.
"I can take parts of what worked for me and offer hope to others, who know I've also been in a dark place.'
I look at what happened as a way to help other people because obviously I wasn't supposed to still be here.
- Paul Miners
Mr Miners is a mental health peer worker for Grand Pacific Health. Peer workers draw upon their own lived experience of suicide, mental illness and recovery to provide support for those accessing mental health care.
Mr Miners' lived experience included being homeless after the beach incident, and spending time living in a tent and later a men's refuge.
Determined to rebuild his life, he eventually moved into a rental home and turned to TAFE NSW Wollongong to arm himself with the practical skills and real world experience to start a career as a peer worker.
In July, just months after starting a Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work with TAFE, Mr Miners gained employment with Grand Pacific Health.
"It means the world to me; words can't explain how good it feels to help others going through what I did," he said.
"I had lived experience but I couldn't have done any of this without TAFE NSW. I learned so much about things like trauma-informed care, strength-based practices and working with different cultures."
TAFE NSW mental health peer work teacher Chloe Hancock said said Mr Miners' experience was a powerful example of why peer support work was the fastest growing mental health workforce in Australia.
If you or someone you know needs support: call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
