In January 2016
Dominic Byrne's wife had a nervous breakdown
and the support just wasn’t there.
And this is why he started Hope Street.
Dominic Byrne's wife had a nervous breakdown
and the support just wasn’t there.
And this is why he started Hope Street.
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Tell me how did you get involved in charitable work and one involving mental health? What started it?
This came about purely through lived experience. In January 2016 my wife had a nervous breakdown and the support just wasn’t there for her or for me as a carer. Prior to this, although I had always been empathetic I had no real idea what mental health was, some might say I was ignorant of it but I’d say I was uneducated. Once I began to learn more I began to see how desperate people can become and being honest I can see why people feel there is no way out because it is easy to feel you are let down by services. After attending a course run by John Haines we both began to understand how things can be different and how being in a positive environment can play a significant part in aiding recovery. Unfortunately, many of the services both in the community and provided by the NHS at the time were only available during working hours which made them more difficult to access. When I was able to help Sheila attend the venues were often cold and though the people were welcoming it was easy to become pulled into negative conversations. Focussing on the positives, providing strategies to help overcome emotions and the subsequent feelings, in our experience just didn’t exist and this is why we started Hope St. We wanted to create a positive environment where people could become educated, understand themselves better and therefore enable them to move forward. Likewise for carers, we wanted them to be able to better understand what their parent, child or friend is going through which will help them in how they provide care. 
Sheila Byrne - wife, Hope St CEO and Co-Founder
What is the most important action anyone can take to be healthy,
mentally and physically? This is a tricky one as I think it can be different things for different people but I would have to say the one thing would be to take time for you. Do something, even if it is 10 or 15 minutes per day that is just for you. For me this would be mediation, exercise or reading (personal development). |
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Not everything that shines is gold. Social media has been in our lives for a bit but it’s not all that good, if you don’t know how to use it. What are the downsides of social media? How can we protect ourselves from the negative impact of it?
People should really be taught how to use social media, it should certainly be part of the curriculum in schools. Comparison is the thief of joy and that is exactly the impact social media can have. It’s so easy to look at someone’s Instagram, Facebook or whatever they use to see a picture or 60 second video of someone’s best life and then waste your time thinking you haven’t got enough. In reality that person share’s 0.069% of their day. The rest of it could be truly dreadful. We need to educate on how every individual can use the content put out on social media to benefit themselves. There are timer limits on some apps like Facebook which pop up once you have reached the time limit you set for the day. I set it for 10 minutes per day and though I regularly snooze the reminder (it takes me 10 minutes to write a post) it helps keep me on track and know when to put my phone down. And what are the good things of social media? If any? There are loads of good things about social media. Education is the best thing. There is so much great educational content out there that it has never been easier to access information which can vastly improve your life. Whilst there are lots of sharks there are loads of people who give their knowledge through content for free. If i want to learn a new recipe I go to YouTube, if i want to learn how to negotiate I got to YouTube, Instagram or Spotify, if I want to learn from global high performers I can go to YouTube, Instagram or any platform that puts out podcasts. |
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Can we have it all, life and work/life balance, success, money and family time and mental health?
Firstly, we all have mental health so it’s up to us to decide what type of mental health we have. But yes we can “have it all”. We may not always have the perfect balance. For example you might work 6 months and reduce family time to be able to do a deal that will enable you to spend the following 18 months with your family. As long as we communicate with everyone involved then yes, we can have it all. What’s your time management trick to stay on top of the busy schedule? How and when do you find time for yourself? Time management is something I have always struggled with but I have recently started using two apps. One is called Focus Keeper and works using the Pomodoro Technique, it has a countdown timer and every 25 minutes an alarm goes off before setting a countdown for 5 minutes. The 25 minutes is for deep work and the 5 is to revive and refresh your brain. I am also using the Remember The Milk app to help with my to do list. Everything is usually in my head which is not the best place for it. |
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What advice do you have for young people out there?
Be you, you don’t have to confirm, don’t be afraid of failure or rejection. Success takes time and dedication, there are ups downs highs and lows but if you put the work in you can do whatever you want or be whoever you want. How do you keep your mindset on the bright side of life? Exercise and meditation. If you had to or could do it all over again [life, career, etc] - would you change anything… and why? I don’t think I would change anything. I’m happy and if I changed anything from my younger life I may not be as happy as I am today. |
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This interview is part of a bigger series around support for young people and helping young people be more confident and making better choices by showcasing role models and examples like yourself. One of the big things missing in people today - in our opinion is confidence - how can we change that?
I’d disagree slightly and say it isn’t confidence that’s missing but self-worth. Confidence, in my opinion, is a by-product of self-worth. We can change it by changing how children are taught in schools. Firstly if children gain a better understanding of Emotional Intelligence they become more self-aware. When we are self-aware we understand our thoughts our emotions and our subsequent actions. This will then feed into our interactions with others and things like social media, we become more aware of what serves us well and what doesn’t. I could go on and on about this but for me, this is the first step. |
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Hobby?
Running and walking. Fav drink? Water (yawn) Fav food? Burger and chips. Fav place? Either the Lake District or Nice. Fav human being? My wife. When was the last time you went on holiday and where? September. A Greek island I think, can’t remember which one. Liverpool or Everton? Everton Tea or coffee? Neither. Cats or dogs? Dogs. Muffin or donut? Donut. 
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Finish this sentence:
“Life is... incredible” “Success is... something we can define” “Happiness is... a cigar called Hamlet (for those old enough to remember)” You’re hosting a dinner party and you can invite 9 people [dead or alive]. Who gets the invite and why? The rock band Muse (there are 3 of them), to play some tunes. Nelson Mandela Socrates My late Grandpa My late mother-in-law. My late Gran. My wife, Caroline. What's the thing you're the proudest out of everything you have done/accomplished so far? Raising two amazing daughters. How is the world a better place because you’re here? I try to send positive ripples into the world. I like to think that if I can help someone, who goes on to help someone else, the ripples travel further. It’s the same if I can inspire someone, who goes on to inspire someone else. What’s the next big thing for Simon Hartley? Now that the book is finished and in print, the next part of my mission is to make sure it helps as many people as possible! |
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If you want to learn more about Dominic simply follow his LinkedIn.
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