‘London is rocket fuel for a career’

Ryan McKiernan has happy memories of growing up in the countryside in Co Longford. Living in an area with no street lights, however, the bright lights of London were an obvious draw for a young man with ambition. He arrived in the city in 2012 to do a biology degree but his plans soon changed. “I quickly realised that being locked away in a lab wasn’t the best fit for someone who likes talking and meeting people.”McKiernan (32) soon found his niche in the not-for-profit sector, working in a variety of roles for organisations including the House of St Barnabas and St Paul’s Cathedral, before taking up his current role as managing director of Fat Macy’s, a social enterprise tackling homelessness through hospitality. Fat Macy’s was founded by Meg Doherty and Nathalie Muskarzel in 2016. Its current flagship project is a restaurant in Shoreditch called Sohaila that provides training and employment opportunities for homeless people and helps fund the organisation’s mission to assist people into finding secure and sustainable accommodation.READ MORE“We are a charity and social enterprise that uses hospitality to tackle the cycle of homelessness, specifically for those in temporary accommodation,” says McKiernan. “For those who hear the term homelessness, their mind naturally jumps to rough sleeping, which is its most acute, visible form, but the vast majority of homeless people are in some form of temporary accommodation. “We use hospitality training, long-term wraparound support and access to £1,500 housing deposit grants to facilitate a move from temporary accommodation to the private rental sector. The aim is to provide a sustainable pathway from hostel to home.” The charity works with a lot of people who fall into the Neet description – not in employment, education, or training – a cohort that numbers more than a million people in Britian. Its programmes include life counselling and mentoring as well as hospitality training. “You can do all the employment and resettling work you want but if the person does not have confidence, motivation and will, it’s all for naught,” says McKiernan.[ ‘If you want to get a job immediately in Brussels, speak Irish and do a law degree’Opens in new window ]Homelessness has worsened in the London in recent years and demand for services to help tackle the problem is increasing, he says. “One in 47 people in London is experiencing homelessness right now and London councils are spending over £4 million every day on temporary accommodation, and that has worsened over the past decade. “The new administration under Andy Burnham is talking about ending rough sleeping, which is really welcome commitment as that is the most acute form. But those people will be moved into [temporary] accommodation, so ultimately you are just pushing that problem downstream.”McKiernan says a lot of the work his organisation does with employers involves building their awareness of what homelessness is and the various people who could be in that circumstance. “Often the message that cuts through most is that many people are much closer to the precipice of homelessness than they realise. We have had trainees who have previously had successful careers and their own homes but have lost their jobs unexpectedly and don’t have a network of support.”Sohaila is a Lebanese-themed restaurant and wine bar. There’s such a strong Irish scene here and sometimes you feel you are still at home. When I go out, I’m rarely in a room where there isn’t an Irish voice— Ryan McKiernan“It’s a normal, functioning restaurant, which was always our intention. When customers come, we don’t want our people to be on show and that it is very obvious what they are going through and why they are here. “We want our customers to come here and say, ‘this is a fantastic restaurant’ and then they find our afterwards that we are a charity and social enterprise. There are subtle hints. We ask for a £1 donation on every bill and that’s explained on the receipt.”The enterprise employs between 10 and 20 people at any one time on a variety of contracts, with a blend of standard experienced hospitality staff and programme participants, which upholds standards and maximises learning opportunities for the trainees. It also has a catering arm supplying events and is publishing its own cookbook in September. The venture produces a surplus and contributes to the charity’s work, which also attracts individual and corporate donations. McKiernan is well settled now in London. “Being in a sedentary role for most of the day, I spend as much time as I can outdoors when I am not working. I live in east London, close to Victoria Park, so I like to get out and exercise, and I play tennis.”“London is rocket fuel for a career and particularly in the field I work in. Every couple of years I look and consider going back to Ireland but I’m still here 14 years on. I love it. [ The Irish woman in New York tapping successful emigrants to fund education back homeOpens in new window ]“There’s such a strong Irish scene here and sometimes you feel you are still at home. When I go out, I’m rarely in a room where there isn’t an Irish voice.”While he has no plans to return to Ireland in the foreseeable future, McKiernan says he does miss the ease and humour of Irish people. “We have this unspoken understanding and shared language with other people. Our sense of humour is unique. It doesn’t always translate outside of Ireland.”He has also made it his mission in recent years to visit every country in the European Union. “Like most people, I was going to Spain, France and Italy, and I decided it would be a good idea to get away from the usual places and to be proud of being European and use my EU passport. I’ve been to over 20 countries in the last couple of years and I’ve a few to go.”