On Sunday, people will be able to wave back, and say goodbye, to Bernie Sessions, when his ashes are carried past that doorway, as part of a memorial motorcycle ride organised by his older brother, Chris.

“It’s my repayment to Bernie,” said Chris Sessions. “It’s just my way of paying my respects to Bernie, and to say ‘thank you’ to the community for all the love they have shown him.”

When “The Man in the Doorway” suddenly disappeared from the community’s life in early June, many felt an absence in their daily routine. The Sessions family explained their son and brother had battled paranoid schizophrenia for many years and had taken his own life.

The loss prompted an outpouring of grief, and stoked a desire for more to be done to help those with mental illness and their loved ones.   

The memory of Bernie Sessions rides on with the bike run. And his ashes will be carried close to his older brother. On the back of Chris Sessions’ Harley Davidson is a small wooden box. It was made by Chris’ daughter, Rachael, as a jewellery box for her mother. But now, with Bernie’s name on the side and a crucifix on the lid, the box contains something even more precious.

“Bernie loved bikes, but he would never get on the back,” said Chris Sessions. “So we’ve got him on the back now.”

“Bikes for Bernie” will begin with a barbecue at Fraser Motorcycles in Broadmeadow at 9.30am. The run is expected to pass the Maitland Road doorway about 10.45am. Members of the Session family will gather on the footpath outside the doorway to watch the procession.

The run will continue to Kooragang Island and over to Stockton, before finishing near the ferry terminal.

Chris Sessions said at least 100 motorcycle riders, including members of the Broadmeadow Harley Owners Group, were expected to take part. He said each participant would be asked to donate $5, and all money raised would go to the Association of Relatives and Friends of People with Mental Illness (ARAFMI). 

To Bernie Sessions’ younger sister, Jenny Allen, the bike ride also helps “reduce the stigma, and raise awareness, of mental illness”.

Mrs Allen is preparing a submission for a state government inquiry into the management of health care delivery. She is calling for improved mental health services and believes there should be a separate inquiry into that issue. 

“My aim is to give carers a voice, and to change the way in which people access mental health services,” Mrs Allen said.