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Born in 1934, Quincy Boykin is a big man who shows deference to his smaller guest by leaning back in his chair. Quincy is also a big man in the mental health field but he hides most of his awards in a drawer. Who is this guy with the title "Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs" for the City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene?

Where and how did you grow up?

I grew up in Manhattan and Queens. Went to public schools. Got my B.A. in history from Lehman College. I worked for banks, city youth programs, the State Labor department. I did research for journalists

How did you become a consumer?

In 1990, I spent three months in Harlem Hospital. I was homeless and doing drugs. I had been drinking and taking heroin for years. I was acting bizarre, grandiose. The doctors diagnosed me as manic depressive. Double trouble is really stigmatizing, really bad. But I not only dried out, my mental symptoms subsided.

How do you deal with your illness?

I can't answer the question of why I'm so blessed. I know so many clinicians who are friends and colleagues, I get full service. I must be the only guy who talks to people and his problems are solved. If you treat people with kindness and courtesy, they get well. If you see an aide yelling and a patient's head is hunched in his shoulders, that person isn't happy because he's not treated well. When I was in the hospital, a nurse told me I would never get better, I would never amount to anything. I got very depressed. Years later she was looking for a job and gave me her resume. There's a saying in the black community, "What goes around comes around." I helped her because God blessed me.

Was your family supportive?

I have some bitterness because my family never treated me nice. I accomplished everything myself. It took me a long time to understand the family perspective. The hurt, sorrows, and hardships.

How did you become involved in the consumer movement?

I got into a housing program which had day treatment and met people going to the New York City Federation for Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Alcoholism Services. It took a long time to be acknowledged. I met a lot of progressive social workers from the city's Department of Mental Hygiene (DMH) and other agencies in 1991. My self-esteem was uplifted and I was empowered by the many good people I met, such as Steve Rabinowitz, Manhattan Psychiatric Center; Zina Freundlich, FEGS; William Witherspoon, Northern Manhattan Mental Health Center; Serge Joachim, Heritage Housing, Robert Hattenbach, OMH; Ed Knight, MHEP; and Howie the Harp, Community Access.

What was it like being a consumer advocate in those days?

The other people who helped me are too numerous to mention. Steve Cohen and I were the odd couple of mental health advocacy. He was an Orthodox Jew from the Brooklyn Mental Health Consumer Center and I was an African American. People thought we were funny until we opened our mouths. Then they stopped laughing. I got involved in committees and eventually, I became the first consumer co-chair of the Manhattan Mental Health Council. Mary McCabe Gandell and Sam Koplowicz were family members and the other co-chairs. Steve Cohen was the second co-chair of a mental health council, the one in Brooklyn. Now there are consumer co-chairs of every borough mental health council.

What have you accomplished?

We worked on housing, managed care, stigma, and employment. A lot of consumers are employed in meaningful jobs. Some run their own businesses. Consumers tell me it's not the money alone that's empowering. It's the idea of going to work, getting up, getting dressed, being a productive member of society. There's a lot more housing, especially for MICA (mentally ill chemically addicted). My first job was consumer coordinator at the Post Graduate Center. I walked in the door. People were skeptical, afraid. I helped people with health, housing, entitlements, events. We traveled all over. Went to the Alternatives conferences.

Do you have any regrets?

Remember Ralph Ellison's book, Invisible Man? I've seen invisible people in the mental health community. We have little political power. It's only when we commit crimes do we get any visibility. People don't come out of the closet because of stigma. I don't care about being out of the closet. I had a stroke last year so I don't have much time. I have a new respect for life. I want to see people treated with respect.

What do you do at DMH?

I direct people to resources in the department and outside, especially for employment. We have two conferences a year. The one in the fall is always on MICA. We also do stigma, housing, and employment. I'm best known for my speeches. There are always people who testify at our conferences for the first time. They get caught up in the experience of coming out of the closet. We let them know they're consumers like us.

What is your latest program?

Smoking cessation. We have a 90-day plan to quit. Workshops. A lot of our people are in bad shape, not just physically but psychologically. Appeasing us by saying let us have cigarettes is treating us like animals.

Who have your bosses been at DMH and DHMH?

All the commissioners have been consumer friendly and empowering, including Luis Marcos, Dan Still, Neal Cohen, and now Lloyd Sederer.

What keeps you going?

Every consumer should be treated with compassion and love like they're our own sons and daughters. We're consumer advocates and family members. We're in it for life. We'll die with our boots on, we'll die fighting. Some have died recently: Howie the Harp, Julius Green, Ken Steele, Brendan Nugent. We can't replace them. They died with their boots on. The sad part is that there are no statues or monuments for these great people. The monuments are in our hearts. When I had my stroke, I was overwhelmed by the sympathy I received. I overheard a doctor saying this guy must be important because of all the cards and visitors he received. I'm a lucky man, a rich man. It's not about me but the people I deal with who helped me so much.