Being The Story

Ignition is a south London brewery, founded by economist Nick O'Shea in 2015 as a not-for-profit organisation with the mission to employ people with learning disabilities and showcase their many talents and undiscovered skills. The team has a lot to offer and with the right support and care, they can make beer that competes on the open market and satisfies the thirst of any customer. Nick shares what it takes to have a new idea and implement it, how to maintain composure and hope, whilst resisting a fridge full of beer.

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Amanda is representing a collective of twelve women sharing their experiences of street prostitution in Hull. Through their book An Untold Story, they have shared their stories of abuse, pain and loss and also exceptional courage and hope. The stories help shatter stigma and foster understanding for women with similar experiences who face marginalisation. The women's stories have now gone on to be featured in the media including BBC World Service, BBC Woman's Hour and The Big Issue.

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Originally from Angola, Belmira came to the UK from Portugal and settled in Newcastle. She has been volunteering with The Comfrey Project for 10 years, which works with refugees and asylum seekers on allotment sites across Newcastle and Gateshead. Belmira manages the garden at one of the sites, improving her English. It's all in her name - Belmira means 'nice view' in her native language. When she's in the garden she forgets the time and forgets her problems. Belmira believes we could all gain a lot from getting involved in the outdoors.

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Steve and Dave are united by their love of Hip-hop which had a huge impact on their lives, and motivated them to co-found the Hull Beats Bus with Nigel Taylor. The Beats Bus is a mobile recording studio building confidence through music and art. They're bringing creative workshops to children across Hull who wouldn't normally be able to access the arts, being deemed 'hard-to-reach'. The Beats Bus is changing the lives of the children involved and Steve and Dave want to encourage more arts-based education to help young people thrive.

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Dan Dewsbury is a BAFTA-nominated Director with a strong belief that the issues raised in documentaries can lead to real change.Dan shares how he started his career on a BBC traineeship programme and has worked on Louis Theroux, Storyville, The Detectives, Crime and Punishment, Hospitaland The Mighty Redcar.That series –exploring the inequality of opportunities for young people in Redcar-won two Royal Television Society awards. He talks about the sense of responsibility he feels to accurately portray people's lives, often filming them at crucial and intimate moments of their lives

Peter Mitchell, a former journalist and television executive, has been in recovery from alcoholism for 10 years. He is Chief Executive of the Road to Recovery Trust, a Newcastle-based charity that supports 12-step, abstinence-based recovery from addictions. He believes addicts face many barriers to recovery but one of the hardest to overcome is the image of the disease itself. While society is quick to praise those in recovery, it's likely to brand those in active addiction as weak-willed. There is a need for better-funded treatment and a greater understanding of this much misunderstood condition.

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When Jonny Benjamin talks, people stop and listen. Jonny is a mental health campaigner, writer and presenter. He shares his story, being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and depression at the age of 20. During his recovery Jonny started making YouTube films about the condition that have been watched by hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. Jonny now speaks publicly about living with mental illness and has given various interviews on TV, Radio and in print around the world to help educate and break stigma.

Join in the conversation online using #BeingtheStory

When Jonny Benjamin talks, people stop and listen. Jonny is a mental health campaigner, writer and presenter. He shares his story, being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and depression at the age of 20. During his recovery Jonny started making YouTube films about the condition that have been watched by hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. Jonny now speaks publicly about living with mental illness and has given various interviews on TV, Radio and in print around the world to help educate and break stigma.

Join in the conversation online using #BeingtheStory

Brigitte Aphrodite is a Punk Poet, Musician, Writer, Theatre Maker and Feminist Showgirl. Brigitte will discuss how performance can be used in mental health education

and will be performing a selection of songs and poems from her critically

acclaimed musical 'My Beautiful Black Dog' which tackles the complexity of our mental

health and challenges the stigma that surrounds depression - but it's not depressing – it's joyous, funny and hopeful. Brigitte has performed at Reading and Leeds Festivals, Latitude, Bestival and sold out runs at the South Bank WOW festival and Hackney Showroom.

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Emma shares her story being diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's Disease at only 29. Emma has made it her mission to raise awareness of Parkinson's and fundraise for Parkinson's UK. This journey has taken her from an unexpected diagnosis to winning awards and being featured in 'Cosmopolitan', where she reached out to other young

women. Through her social media campaigning, Emma has done so much to raise the profile of this condition and believes that having Parkinson's was the making of her.

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