Fat Macy's Milestone Programme

Aim

Fat Macy’s is a London-based social enterprise tackling homelessness through culinary and hospitality training and wellbeing support

Fat Macy’s is a social enterprise that helps people who have experienced homelessness to move on from temporary accommodation and build a stable life. We do this through culinary and hospitality training in our food businesses and tailored 1:1 support around wellbeing, employment and sustaining a tenancy.

What do we do? 

We offer a 200 hour work experience programme in our social enterprise restaurant and catering company, coupled with tailored and holistic 1:1 support, called the Milestone Programme. The Milestone Programme allows people living in temporary accommodation the opportunity to apply for a housing deposit grant at the end of their 200 hours. The housing deposit grant is up to £1,300 and is paid directly to the landlord. We offer small milestone grants at 50, 100 and 150 hours. These can be for anything that will help people into employment or their home. 

Fat Macy’s provides an innovative way of helping facilitate the transition from hostel accommodation into independent living. It stems from the idea that people need a real, tangible incentive to improve their circumstances, especially if they have had to adapt to living in the chaotic, volatile and fragile environment that hostel accommodation so often presents. 

Who do we support? 

Fat Macy’s works with people who are experiencing homelessness and living in temporary accommodation. We work with people who are unable to break the cycle of homelessness because they are not eligible for social housing, and are unable to save for a deposit to move into private rented accommodation. We work with those who have taken the first step from rough sleeping into temporary accommodation, and provide a framework within which our beneficiaries can tackle the underlying causes of their experienced homelessness. 

Our beneficiaries are typically between 18 to 35, living in temporary accommodation, and have some first hand experience of the benefits system. We work with people from a range of different backgrounds, nationalities, and religions. The majority of our trainees come from black or ethnic minority groups. 

What is the problem? 

Homelessness is a serious social issue in the UK, with 96,060 households in temporary accommodation in England as of September 2021, 59,160 of those were London Households. That means 61% of the temporary accommodation population in England is in London. 

Homelessness is a complex issue and many of its forms are invisible (sofa surfing, staying with parents, etc.) so the true scale of the problem is hard to quantify. At Fat Macy’s, we work with those who have already engaged with a housing service, and have been placed into temporary accommodation. 

When living in temporary homeless hostel accommodation, residents find it increasingly challenging to save money for independent living due to the benefit system, sanctions and the daily expense of hostel living.

Under Housing Benefit legislation, anyone working over 16 hours per week is not entitled to a full allowance. People are disincentivised to work as their housing benefits are reduced and they become liable for the service charge at the hostel despite not being able to afford it. For those living in temporary accommodation, this means paying an increasingly hefty chunk of the £1000+ monthly rent. This creates a situation where people find it incredibly difficult to save for a housing deposit and move out of temporary accommodation. 

Only 28% of all residents believed they were receiving any support in saving for a flat deposit. YMCAs across England provide beds for 10,000 16-35 year olds every night. A YMCA report ‘Delayed Until Further Notice’ found that 78% of those surveyed suggested that not being able to afford a deposit was very likely or likely to prevent them from finding somewhere to move on.

Social housing is currently stretched to the limit, with a large number of homeless individuals being on a waiting list for over two years. High rents and a lack of good quality housing also contribute to the current housing crisis.

How does it work?

We recruit trainees through our outreach activities in hostels. We run cooking classes and drop in sessions in hostels to sign people up for the Milestone Programme. Once they have completed their Level 2 Food Hygiene certification, they do three trial sessions in our restaurant. At this point we will do a baseline impact measurement before we begin delivering modules from our support curriculum. 

Trainees who successfully complete their trial period are invited onto the Milestone Programme. At this point, they begin receiving tailored and holistic support from their Progression & Engagement Officer. Trainees volunteer their hours either for our catering company, or at our restaurant Sohaila in Shoreditch. Our dedicated business team ensures to take the time to teach trainees the technical side of the hospitality sector. We do this by tailoring work-experience sessions to the needs of each trainee. We progressively introduce them to busier working environments and therein develop not only their technical skills, but also their time management, stress management, and teamwork. 

Once on the programme, trainees complete work experience in our restaurant and catering company at least once a week over a six month period. They work with our chefs and front of house team to get tailored training in the hospitality industry. 

Trainees receive positive or constructive feedback following each session. In this way we ensure that we are constantly solidifying good working practices, or tackling issues as they arise. We take a holistic approach to employability support, ensuring that our trainees not only learn technical skills in the kitchen and as front of house staff but also how to work within a team structure and take on feedback. 

At each 50 hour interval, trainees have a formal 1:1 session with their P&E Officer and a member of the business team. They also have the opportunity to apply for a Milestone Grant at these intervals for anything that will help them with employment or their home. 

At the end of the 200-hour programme, trainees are entitled to apply for a Housing Deposit Grant. To do so, they must work collaboratively with their Progression and Engagement Officer to produce a budget for the next six months, have two valid forms of ID, be in employment, and have no arrears at their hostel. We call this process the 360 Review. 

We then support graduates to find the right accommodation, and continue to support them once they have moved in. Graduates receive 6 months tenancy sustainment support, and can access ad hoc support as and when they need it for up to two years. 

We formally monitor their situation at 6 months, 12 months and 18 months after their move into their new accommodation. We recognise that moving on is a challenging process and our graduates may need support taking the next steps. We focus on evaluating their wellbeing, employment status and the sustainability of their home, both financially and socially. We are committed to offering long-term support to the graduates to ensure our work has a long-lasting and sustainable positive impact.

What is the impact?

To date, the Fat Macy’s programme has provided more than 4,700 hours of work experience, and holds £47,000 for future trainee grants. We’ve had 17 trainees complete the programme and we’ve secured five housing deposits for people to move into their first home. 

While moving people into their first homes we provide a breadth of support depending on the trainees and their needs. 

We recognise that our trainees and their needs are all different and complex and often come from unstable situations. This is why we tailor to the trainee’s needs by providing access to a Progression and Engagement Officer for the wellbeing of our trainees. 

Temporary accommodation providers are often understaffed and  unable to provide the same level of 1:1 that we do. For instance, we provide them employment support, help them obtain the necessary documentation and resources they may need for employment and provide them emotional support throughout the programme and up to 2 years ad hoc. 

This project successfully funded on 29th December 2022