As this year’s recipient of the 2010 Churchill Fellowship I will visit Peer-based recovery centres in Vermont, Connecticut and Philadelphia in October and November of this year.

Currently, I am Chief Executive Officer of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs. I feel that my career and experiences so far have been a preparation for this post. The personal requirements are all with me, and the main responsibilities and duties are well within my grasp. Already, for example, journalists from television and radio news departments at the BBC, ITV, Swansea Sound and S4C have asked for my reaction to publications, research papers, and government declarations and policies on substance abuse and substance dependence syndrome; and I have long addressed varied audiences on a variety of topics. I also have a number of exciting new initiatives that I would like to be associated with over the next three years. Initiatives that will allow the Council to be inclusive, and enable it to disseminate its important message to new audiences as well as its usual core target audience, the church denominations, churches, religious bodies, and agencies within Wales. And being a qualified addictions counsellor granted “accredited practitioner” status by Fdap (the Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals) I will be offering free confidential one-to-one addictions counselling. For more confidential information about this clinic contact the Council on 029 2049 3895.
My appointment to this important post, incidentally, verifies the final few words of my autobiography in Welsh, Raslas bach a mawr! Even then, I believe, I somehow knew that one day I would be fulfilling this post.

More important than anything, I'll be available to come and speak about the Council's work to churches and chapels in Wales, to schools and to youth groups. To facilitate this and to better help me carry the message in the most effective, efficient way possible, I ask you to cooperate with other churches/schools/groups in your viallage, town or city so that as many people as possible get to these meetings.

My latest book, No Room to Live, offers a positive way out from the hell of addiction. All profits from the sales of this book go towards setting up The Living Room Cardiff. A free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre that offers help to anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency such as eating disorders, sex addiction, gambling, self-harm, etc.
Buy online now at www.gwales.com or www.noroomtolive.com.
No Room to Live  is a personal reflection, and one that will appeal to anybody who wishes to escape from addiction but feels hopelessly trapped. The blurb says this about it: ‘The book is written with warmth and humour by a man who had it all, lost it all, and then, after much soul searching, successfully found lasting freedom from his own demons. If he did it, so can you...’