Seattle man with schizophrenia perseveres, and thrives, by helping others

By Ellen M. Banner for The Seattle Times • Nov. 8, 2024

Joey Wilson’s always busy: Doing yardwork for a friend with disabilities. Making sandwiches at a local church for people in need. Cleaning and bagging groceries at his part-time job at Whole Foods.

Wilson, 33, was diagnosed with schizophrenia over a decade ago. The Lower Queen Anne resident has made it his mission to spend his days helping others — and to share his story about living with the serious mental health condition.

“The guy has wings on his shoulders. He’s an angel,” his friend Doug Hebert says. “Over the course of the past five years, I have become increasingly disabled. Joey has assisted me, at least every other day, with my chores and activities of daily living. I would probably be in an assisted-living environment if it wasn’t for Joey’s compassion and friendship.”

Anne Schmidt met Wilson while he was volunteering at Martha’s Workers, a group at St. Anne’s church in Queen Anne that prepares over 500 sandwiches a week for people who are homeless.

“One of the main things I see in Joey is his quiet willingness to help,” Schmidt said. “He doesn’t say much, he just gets things done.”

It hasn’t been an easy road for Wilson. He says he’s dealt with the odds being against him since he was born three months prematurely, weighing only 1 pound.

By the age of 5, he was still tiny, weighing 21 pounds. Most of his elementary school years were in self-contained, special education classrooms.

Between ages 12 and 13, he started hearing voices. A doctor told his mother he would have early onset schizophrenia by the age of 18. At 19, he did.

He spent the next three years in and out of Harborview’s psychiatric ward and finally moved into Transitional Resources — a behavioral health center in West Seattle for people with mental illnesses.

There, he got on the right medication and found a part-time job. He moved into his own place by the age of 23. At 25, he enrolled in Bellevue College’s Occupational Life Skills Program for people with learning disabilities, which teaches skills ranging from workplace communication to computer basics.

Wilson’s work to advocate for people with mental illnesses has brought him into the political sphere: While getting his associate degree, Wilson testified in Olympia, helping pass a bill that allowed people with disabilities to work more without losing their Medicaid benefits. Another bill he helped pass stopped employers from being able to get special permissions to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage.

“Joey has shown incredible strength over the years, being vulnerable about his own diagnosis, and breaking down stigma and assumptions about those who live with schizophrenia,” says Washington state Sen. Noel Frame, who worked with Wilson on the legislation.

Frame wrote in an email that many assume people with profound behavioral health and/or developmental disabilities cannot work, but Wilson’s story shows what he and so many others contribute to our communities.

Eugene Edgar, a mentor for Wilson, says that as a student at Bellevue College, Wilson also volunteered to work on a Washington legislative group to improve Social Security assistance to workers with disabilities.

“He became a sort of speaker for disability groups,” Edgar said. “He won awards. He was invited to join various boards of advocacy groups. He had found his niche in the world. He has enriched my life.” 

Today, Wilson is a board member for many organizations — St. Vincent DePaul, Bellevue College’s Occupational Life Skills Program, the Arc of King County and NAMI Seattle (National Alliance on Mental Illness) — where he continues to work for people with disabilities.

Sean Maloney, a board member at NAMI Seattle, says, “Joey is a kind and gentle soul who has done so much to create awareness about what it is like to live with a mental health challenge. … Through his efforts, he is helping to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness. In doing so, he is encouraging others to seek help sooner.”

Wilson credits his good life now to his support system — his mother, who is his best friend and has always been there for him, and his mentors and case manager. Being on the right medication is also a big part of his success. Finding the right combination of drugs took a long time, but has been lifesaving, he said.

The voices, which are filled with harmful negative thoughts and discourage him from following his dreams, have never stopped — but because of the medication they pass through and are easier to ignore.

Wilson recommends that families never give up on those with schizophrenia and to always check on the people they care about to ensure they are doing OK.

Helping people is something he loves and it makes him feel good. Many people have helped him along his path and he wants to do the same for others, he said.

His favorite quote is “Dreams come a size too big so we can grow into them.”

His own dreams: continuing his advocacy work in state and national politics. Working on the maintenance staff for his favorite team, the Seattle Sonics. Writing a book that shares his story and resources for people to get help.

“We are all on a path and bigger and better things will come,” Wilson said. “We are our dreams and we must never stop growing.”