June Callwood

She has founded and co-founded more than fifty social action organizations. In the beginning there was Diggers in Yorkville (a safe haven for Hippies in the ‘60’s). Today there is Aids Hospice Casey House (founded 1988) where some 750 people have lived and died with diginity when no medical cure was available; Jessie’s Centre (founded 1982) for Teenagers which is a drop-in and education centre for teenage moms and their babies; and finally, Nellie’s Hostels for Women serving homeless women. 

Throughout her 28 books Callwood combines her journalist’s abilities with her humanist’s desire to understand human motivation. In Trail Without End: A Shocking Story of Women and Aids , for example, she tells the story of 20 women infected by the same lover. The man, who refused to use condoms although he knew he was carrying HIV was proven to be the carrier through DNA testing. Another such tale is The Sleepwalker: a true tale of a Scarborough man who three hours after sleeping in front of the television, found himself 23 kilometres away, wielding a knife and tire iron in a murderous assault on his wife’s parents. His mother-in-law was killed, his father in law survived and the sleepwalker was aquitted. 

As a social activist she’s concerned that we are living in a time when everybody seems to be out for themselves, where trust - the fabric that binds humanity together - is breaking down. It’s a time when some choose to watch things go wrong rather than step in and make a change. But, Ms. Callwood asserts altruism from a single individual can make a substantial differnce in the lives of others. All change starts with small individual efforts, done because one human being can’t bear to watch bad things happen to another. 

Ms. Callwood customizes each speaking presentation to incorporate the unique properties of the client’s industry. As a journalist she investigates every subject from a fresh perspective.