Food = Community 🍛💛
Yes - we do a lot of cooking at Fat Macy's. We also do a lot of eating.
Sharing a meal is a deeply social act. It can be an act of care, of love, of celebration...
These pictures might look like your average WhatsApp group media section, but included in here are:
- a community iftar, where trainees and staff came together to learn about Ramadan from their Muslim friends
- biscuits baked for colleagues at the end of a stressful run up to Christmas
- cake to celebrate the end of an anxiety-inducing benefits tribunal process
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #FoodIsCommunity
Moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do 😟🏠
As you can see from these happy faces, moving on from temporary accommodation is great! Our graduates talk about feeling free, independent and proud when they move. 💛
But that doesn't make the process of moving any less stressful than it is for any of us. From traipsing to viewings after work, to trying to pack your life into boxes, to looking for the gas meter whilst your friend is asking where that lamp goes - moving is HARD WORK. 📦
Alongside their housing deposit grant, our graduates can access £200 to cover moving costs. Whether that's paying for a big taxi, ordering some boxes so you're not moving with shopping bags, or giving your mate with a van some petrol money - that £200 can take away some of the main stressors on moving day.
If we've given horror flashbacks to moving days past, and you'd like to reach out a helping hand to our graduates who are moving right now, all you need to do is make a small donation via our website!🔗
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #GiveBack
Happy 5th 'FM-versary' Tasneem! 🥰🥳
Today marks 5 years since the incredible Tasneem joined @fatmacys and tbh we couldn’t imagine the place without her! 🫶
The determination and perseverance she shows on behalf of her trainees is relentless. And her warmth and enthusiasm are unrivaled.
From winning awards for her work on EDI to making benefits applications less stressful with the addition of gelato, Tasneem is one of the best.
But don't listen to us - take a scroll through these messages from some of the people she's supported over the years.
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSuppott
"You build up a close rapport! It's important that you're treated like a friend and not like you're another quota to fulfil." - Fat Macy's Graduate 🤗
So much of being a Fat Macy's trainee is about developing strategies for good emotional wellbeing. That doesn't mean being happy all the time - it means having emotional health that can withstand the highs and lows of life.
Whether you're growing your social network at community events, learning to express your needs with our team, or learning to celebrate your own achievements, we always make space for emotional growth.
Our trainees and graduates are the experts in what they need, and we are guided by them. Sometimes that means counselling or coaching. Sometimes it means opening up whilst we cook side-by-side. Sometimes it means trying on the engineer's boots at the Tower Bridge museum and getting hysterical giggles with your pals. 😂
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #EmotionalWellbeing
"In our culture food is like 'I love you'." 🍛💛
Fat Macy's graduate Mahlet shared these pictures of Ethiopian food she cooked with friends. She told us how food and community go hand in hand for her.
"This is all vegan food. We don’t eat separately when when gathering - in our culture food is like 'I love you'. We eat for 6 or more people on big plates.
"In these pictures there is goman (kale), lentils, shero (chickpeas), beetroot, dinch wote (potato stew), tomatoes with some onions and spices, some salad, and injer. And firfir! Firfir is everyone's first love - it’s the easiest thing to make out of all of our food."
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #FoodIsCommunity
Congratulaions to our spring cohort! 👏👏👏
This small but mighty group have all graduatd from our Training Academy! 🎓
This is no mean feat! All 4 trainees have completed:
- 4 weeks of hospitality, catering and employability training
- Life coaching sessions
- CV development workshops
- 3 work experience days
- A Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene qualification
Huge congratulations to Isaac, Kyanne and Serena!
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #EmploymentSkillsTraining
Confidence doesn’t happen overnight.
At the start of the programme, many of our trainees feel unsure of their skills, their place, and what’s possible for them. Week by week, that begins to shift.
Through training, work experience and being part of a supportive community, we see self-belief grow. By the end, people aren’t just learning new skills - they’re backing themselves in a way they hadn’t before 💛
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #SelfBeliefJourney
What's changing for renters today? 🏘
In short...a LOT!
From today, some new protections for renters come into play thanks to the Renters' Rights Act.
This is a game changer for our graduates. Discrimination against benefits recipients, rent bidding wars and requests for huge amounts of rent in advance all put people staying in temporary accommodation at a massive disadvantage.
If you rent, make sure you know your rights under these changes. You can find a link to a guide for renters in our bio 🔗
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #RentersRightsAct
Cooking is self care 💛👨🍳
Something many of our graduates take away from Fat Macy's is a love of cooking. For some that means a career as a chef, but for others it means more time and care spent on their own meals.
Fat Macy's graduate Thomas has a demanding full-time job in the public sector, but he makes sure to build time into his week to prepare tasty and nutritious meals to take care of himself 🥗
Plus he's rather good at baking cakes to take care of the people around him 🧁
1. Banana, chocolate and date cake Thomas baked for the @sohailarestaurant team on his last day
2. An epic yule log with a strawberry and orange filling
3. Thomas' go-to quick and tasty dinner of spicy sausage pasta
4. Sachertorte because baking trumps boredom on weekends
5. Chicken and roast veggie tray bake with a sauce 'so good you could drink it'!
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #CookingIsSelfCare
Brava Mimi 🎓🙌
Fat Macy's Graduate Mimi has been completing the @pret Foundation's Rising Stars programme this spring, and last week she graduated!
Mimi and Tasneem went to celebrate with the Pret team last week. The way Mimi's confidence and belief in herself have grown is a delight to see. A massive congratulations to her and her course mates! 🤩
Mimi is now looking for a permanent role and is as confident speaking to customers as she is in the kitchen. If you have a role she could apply for, drop us a DM!
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #CareerPathways
Community and cake 🍰
Fat Macy's graduate Mahlet baked this chocolate and vanilla sponge cake with peach and buttercream filling to celebrate Orthodox Easter with her friends.
All around the world, people cook for each other when they want to celebrate. It is an act of creativity and friendship.
We just love to see our graduates take what they learned with Doug and cook for the people they love!
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #HomelessnessSupport #FoodIsCommunity
Why does 'home' matter? 🏠
Having somewhere to stay is not the same as having a home. A home is somewhere you can feel safe and stable. You can build a life from a home.
When you are settled in your home, you can be part of a community.
When your home is your sanctuary, you have energy to focus on things like following your ambitions.
Home is where we can truly be ourselves. And when we can be ourselves, we can build relationships.
A home means a future. 🔑💛
#FatMacys #FromHostelToHome #EndingHomelessness
