I’m available for keynote speeches on a variety of topics including issues around poverty, crime, drug misuse and mental health.  Here’s a link to a talk I gave for BBC Radio 4’s Four Thought about crime, social housing and our collective responsibility to those who draw the short straw.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/fourthought/fourthought_20140219-2100b.mp3

Testimonials from previous talks.

Talk About Something You Like at ‘Protecting People’, East Ayrshire.

 “[I enjoyed the event] immensely. I have never heard such an honest account spoken with great passion.”

“Byron was fantastic. He took some very difficult issues and made them comical. Which was great for breaking down the barriers that people put up around mental health.”

“…Byron communicated very effectively the experiences he has had with the NHS family and with peers. It gave me greater insight into mental illness and clearly illustrated the fears and anxieties of those needing treatment at times.”

“[The event was] very insightful into bilpolar and Byron put humour into a taboo subject which really helped.”

“…very moving and powerful.”

 Various event attendees

Nothing to Lose for the Humberside police force.

 “The inputs have been excellent and the feedback from the staff has been pretty impressive. We have had several agencies present at the sessions and I hope Byron takes away that he has changed the mindset of not just individuals but of whole organisations. I have had Senior Management Members requesting to attend dates so they can hear his input as word has spread back at the stations. This is unprecedented and shows how powerful his message is.”

Martin Leak, Ops Support Development Officer

Nothing to Lose & TASYL for Community Justice, Glasgow.

 “Byron gave the most extraordinary input to a group of senior partners from Public Services, ex offenders, people from communities. Through his input he connected with each person in the audience in a different way. He is a brilliant speaker, authentic, vulnerable, moving, funny, passionate and articulate – he talks of many of the attributes that make us human and keep us connected. I can honestly say the Violence Reduction Unit has never had such feedback from anything that we have done, in comparison to Byron. This is not a performance piece, Byron engages in quite difficult discussions after his input, which demonstrates a huge depth of knowledge around subjects of inequality and mental health – he touched on neurophysiology, pharmacology, public service reform, policing, continuous professional development and a huge number of other subjects with a huge understanding of the issues and connectedness. In summary, we loved him, and have suggested he becomes and honorary Scot!”

Karyn McCluskey, Director, Scottish Violence Reduction Unit.

Nothing to Lose for the Home Connections housing conference

 “[Byron’s] speech went down really well and helped generate a lot of intellectual energy and debate for our closing session.”

Ninesh Muthiah, Home Connections

 Nature, Nurture and Society for Glasgow Centre for Population Health

 “Through his expert use of language and humour Byron took us on a moving and insightful journey through his childhood and adolescence on a council estate and his own experience of living with a mental health condition. Through the talk he raised deep issues and posed profound questions for the audience. The talk was extremely well received and led to a very real discussion around the subjects raised. He handled the questions impressively with mature, articulate and very open responses.”

Alison Linyard, Winter Seminar Convenor, GCPH/IFF