Parkhead Housing Association is delighted to announce that Josh Littlejohn MBE will deliver the 4th Annual John Wheatley Lecture on 25th October 2018.

Josh will follow in the footsteps of former Lord Advocate for Scotland Dame Elish Angiolini, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Guardian columnist Owen Jones in delivering the now well-established lecture.

Josh Littlejohn MBE is one of the UK’s leading social entrepreneurs. As co-founder of Social Bite, a social enterprise in Scotland with tackling homelessness at its core, Josh has been instrumental in creating an organisation with a strong social purpose that sees 100% of Social Bite’s profits donated to good causes, with one in four of its employees coming from a homeless background.

Josh has a proven track record in fundraising for homeless causes including raising more than £4 million for homelessness causes by organising the world’s biggest sleep out event Sleep in the Park in 2017. Over 8,000 people slept out on a cold winter’s night entertained with some of the world’s biggest performers.

In 2017, Josh was given an MBE in the New Years Honours list, which he dedicated to the homeless and marginalised. He has received 2 honorary doctorates and he also made the Debrett’s list of 500 most influential people in the UK 2017.

Parkhead chief executive, Jim Strang, said: “To secure a speaker of the calibre of Josh Littlejohn MBE is another fantastic feather in the cap of PHA, particularly as the issue of homelessness is at the forefront of our minds and the minds of our colleagues across the sector. We are extremely excited to hear what will undoubtedly be a first class lecture.” Details on how to register for the event will follow soon.