Tauranga man Scotty Harvey is taking ‘Jono’ and ‘Roger’ on a 2500km South Island road trip over Christmas. A spiritual one.

Because ‘Roger’ died in 1995 and ‘Jono’, his brother, in 2011.

Both tragically to suicide.

The boys’ Mum had scrawled their names on the bonnet of Scotty’s ‘mental health automobile’ as a little memorial.

You will have seen the ‘mobile’ around Tauranga – a garish 1997 Toyota Camry with 277,068km on its fluorescent wheels, and patched together with messages of hope and love, suicide statistics and inspirational words written by people with, or touched by, mental health issues.

People like ‘Roger’ and ‘Jono’s’ Mum.

“When I told her they were coming on holiday with me, she just wept,” says Scotty.

A mother grieves for her sons.

By now Scotty will probably be parked up under a sun umbrella somewhere on the Desert Rd with his signs – ‘Your mental health ok? Come and have a yarn’ and ‘You OK bro? stop 4 a yarn’.

The former social worker who lives with bipolar – extreme mood swings mental from emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and dreadful lows (depression) – is a kind of mental health missionary, engaging with anyone and everyone about their mental wellbeing.

On the side of the road, with his signs and those ears ready to listen, all the way to Stewart Island and return.

One person... 

“If I can stop just one person from beating their wife, from self-harming or suicide, and make them feel human again, alive again, then it will have been worthwhile.”

And because his roadside clinics have been so successful, Scotty is ramping up his services.

“Last week I resigned from my job.

"Why would I want to sit in an office when I am needed at the pit face?”

So the 52-year-old Kojak bald, bespectacled and heavily tattooed Scotty is taking his mental health evangelist out on the road full-time.      

His car and its messages are the magnet – ‘You are lovely, you are worthy, you make someone’s day better’, ‘You are not alone’, ‘Family and friends do love you’.

Even his body is a billboard for the cause.

‘R U OK bro?’ is inked on his calf.

People would laugh and joke when they saw the car at the supermarket.

“Then someone wouldn’t smile and I would ask them if they’re okay...”

For Scotty, it’s a calling, it’s God’s work; it’s a passion.

“I live and breathe mental health.

"I see it and hear it every day and my biggest problem is the system is broken.”

Won’t Scotty put mental health aside for Christmas and relax?

“Exactly why I am doing the road trip.

"To help some who might be alone on Christmas Day and needs to talk.

"I could be that someone who could make a difference.”

He’s taken the back seat out of the Camry for a mattress for a night’s kip.

That’s if he doesn’t sleep under the stars.

He has $4500 in his kitty for food and petrol, his listening ears are pricked up and he’s packed those cherished memories of Roger and Jono.

Scotty’s mental health roadshow rolled out of town on Wednesday, n odyssey around the South Island and he’ll be back in a month. 

Then the weekend ‘R U OK Bro?’ roadside mental health clinics has become a seven-day service.

Scotty’s great southern odyssey is underway. Parked up in the gravel, calm and solitude of the Desert Rd. Photo: supplied.

Need to talk?

If you need to talk to someone, here are some helpful numbers.

Suicide Prevention Helpline Crisis: 0508 828 865 Helpline: 0800 543 354, Text us on: 4357.

Mental Health - Crisis team: 0800 800 508 operating 24/7.

Need to talk? (1737 – free call or text) any time for support from a trained counsellor.