- M
- R
ABSTRACT:
I, Richard Narayan, an avid Daydreamer have for an extended period had a passion for helping those less fortunate than ourselves, including the homeless. From when I first gave food to someone in need on the street and asking what more it was that I could do, I decided I wanted to help change their lives for the better.
I realised over time that the best way to helping homeless people would be to create sustainability and assisting them in finding long-term employment in a job of their dreams. However, getting homeless people into employment is a massively complicated task in itself.
Due to the complexities, level of information required and number of agencies to work with, I’m putting together a software system to facilitate the transition of those suffering from poverty, homelessness, long-term unemployment, offenders having difficulties finding work and other similar communities.
This is my crowdfunding page to ideally source finance and support to continue the development of this idea and turn it into a long-term viable solution.
FULL STORY
I have always been an avid daydreamer; sometimes more dreams than action.
For as long as I remember, I've looked up at the stars and dreamt of the possibilities of what could be.
I believe in the power of aspiration and target-setting towards achieving your dreams and long-term goals.
Anything is possible, if only we have the courage to chase our dreams.
(Famous saying, right? Maybe you've heard it at least once before?)
No dream is ever too big, and no dream too small…
Over a lifetime, I’ve heard continuously heard from homeless people that they dream of working and getting themselves out of poverty, if only they had the chance.
For more than 10 or so years, I’ve worked with a variety of organisations in the sector and attempted to put in place mechanisms to help get individuals into their ideal job role.
I’m trying to set up an organisation specifically designed to take homeless people off the street and get them into long-term employment; with an organisational ethos of assisting individuals achieve their dreams.
The Daydreamer Project was the name I gave the 2-year window within which I proposed to get each person into their aspired job role.
Fundamentally, a form of social recruitment initiative designed to facilitate the hardest to reach communities into work; which included the homeless, long-term unemployed, ex-offenders, veterans and other marginalised communities off the streets and into work to create greater sustainability.
Each person a project in the making and continuously developing…
The Daydreamer Initiative is the charitable arm of the organisation which focuses on getting individuals the support they need in order to better their lives and get to a point where they can proactively seek and sustain employment.
Both work hand-in-hand to ensure treating underlying causes of homeless and unemployment and then supporting into employment.
Due to the way in which I process information and view the world around me, it can be very difficult to process the vast amount of information required to enrol/register, and ongoingly work with each service user in order to get them into a better way of life.
The mountain of paperwork required and the number of calls made can be highly overwhelming for anyone.
What I realised over the course of the last 10 years is that my idea was not as simple as I’d envisaged. To get homeless people into work, is a massively complicated task.
No two service users are ever the same and no two individuals have the same set of needs. There is a vast amount of information that must be processed at a variety of different touchpoints in order to achieve a desired end-outcome in-line with what the user would like.
I devised a simple hierarchical process model to be able to partner with organisations and assist in achieving common long-term goals for the benefit of service users. I figure the only way to combat poverty and homelessness is by individuals and organisations working together more cohesively.
There are a number of organisations working to help those suffering from poverty, homelessness and similar conditions alike, so this allows us to create an internal marker and process for each stage they’re currently at.
Homelessness requires addressing a variety of long-term needs:
> Food poverty
> Accessing a home and shelter
> Improving life conditions and maintaining sustainability
> Accessing employment
> Having long-term goals to work towards
To be able to better manage next steps:
Our core focus is EMPLOYMENT; however, individuals must be at a point of being “Job Ready” before they can be referred for employment.
One thing I have learned over time is that unfortunately, you cannot help everybody. Those who seek assistance and want to change will find you and will proactively engage and try and make their lives better. Those who do not will continue to reject support that is offered. That is unfortunately one of the harsh realities of life.
It is also not simply as easy as simply offering a homeless person a job.
You need some form of stable housing, food and nourishment, to be free of addictions and the dealings with the criminal justice systems.
> Combating food poverty and ability to have breakfast/dinner
> Having a home and permanent address
> Somewhere safe to put your head at night
> Shower facilities to freshen up
> Creating a routine and improving life skills
> Ongoing mental health support (where needed)
> Financial advice and support while seeking employment
> Drug/alcohol support
There are a variety of needs that need to be taken into account and a complex array of underlying causes to either addiction or homelessness that may have led an individual to the avenue at which they present themselves to you. Conducting a full needs assessment and recommending services and solutions tailored to each individual rather than a blanket approach is normally more effective.
Being financially sustainable and being better able to manage your finances, having a hot shower in the morning and waking up in a warm bed is priceless to someone whom has not had the luxury for a long time.
Simple things that we take for granted on a day-to-day basis, other people can only dream of.
Once in a more constructive environment, individuals are able to get ongoing support, training and establish how best to engage with the job-market to gain long-term sustainability.
At heart, I am a very data-driven and methodical individual and as part of my role, I want to learn and understand as much about the individuals I intend to help long-term. Using a centralised database, we can manage and report on success rates, address commonalities between individuals and groups on a local/national level.
I found a few screen shots of functionalities and tables that I had initially envisaged implementing a number of years ago when I first had the idea to be able to implement an end-to-end process, so am sharing the below as it gives a greater understanding of what was initially the original idea.
The irony is, it has been a number of years since I initially devised the below needs and requirements and a number of years later, having revisited the document today, it occurs to me that fundamentally not much has changed.
I am still embedding almost all of the below mentioned functionality in some capacity and have not really strayed from the original idea a great deal.
Post-development, I appreciate that there may be some ongoing iterations and changes required on an ongoing basis, depending on user requirements and necessary functionality, including best/worst case scenario. Below you can see a conceptual list of general functionalities.
ADMIN USERS/STAFF PORTAL – have relevant access to the system and information pools depending on requirements and functionality
• Candidates – All candidates loaded onto the system
• Organisations – List of organisations and businesses
• Clients – List of active clients
• Contacts – List of contacts within organisations
• Jobs/Packages – Advertised and available jobs including job packages available for external purchase
• Timesheets – Candidate time-sheets or client time-sheet requirements
• Case Management – Individual candidate/service user case management
• Calendar – Gregorian calendar depicting all events in a chronological format
• Events – List of all events in table/list format
• Training – Training programs and list of training providers
• Data – Raw data and information
• Blog – Link to external blog, list of published blog posts and future pending posts
• Email templates – Standardised templates for outgoing emails depending on automated nature
CANDIDATE PORTAL: Candidate login functionality to be able to upload information to both avoid continuous duplication and also enable efficient progression
• Personal Info – Input and update personal information
• Employment history – Update employment history
• Educational history – Update educational history
• Equal opportunities monitoring -
• Timesheets
• Case Management
• Jobs – Recommended jobs, previously applied for roles, current applications and feedback
• Calendar – Calendarised view of past, present and upcoming events
• Events – List of past, present and upcoming events
• Psych test – Access to onboarding and psychometric tests, past and previous results
• Resume/profiles – Updated CVs and Cover letters in single storage
• Training – Past/present/future training and qualifications gained
• Higher needs questions – Additional support requirements
ACTIVE CLIENT – LOGIN VIA CLIENT PORTAL
• Jobs – Active jobs list
• Candidates – List of active past and present candidates, including referred candidates and feedback provided
• Contracts – Past/present contracts
• Timesheets – Past and present timesheets on a per candidate basis
• Case Management – If actively involved in supporting candidate/service user in a specialist and professional capacity
• Calendar – Calendarised view of past, present and future events
• Events – List view of past, present and future events
• Training – Any past, present and future training
• Blog – Blog functionality
In order to be proactive long-term, we have to address the underlying issues relating to the causes of homelessness to be able to implement preventative measures in the future, including obtaining the right support when required.
The more proactive we can be, the less reactive we have to be!
I am interested in creating a growing support network for those that need it the most…
I also want to reduce the cost of homelessness on the TAX PAYER and SOCIETY in general as an avoidable cost.
There are costs including cost of healthcare, support and the criminal justice system.
These are all reduced by enabling individuals to grow positively and engage in society in a constructive manner.
Did you know homeless people are more likely to die young, with an average age of death of 47 years old and even lower for homeless women at 43, compared to 77 for the general population, 74 for men and 80 for women.
As I’ve been chasing this dream for over 10 years now and faced numerous hurdles.
Hurdles are inevitable in life, it's whether we give up that is a choice!
I’ve got to decide on whether I get a conventional job or continue to try and change the world; even just for a few.
I've now got to fight tooth and nail for my own dreams…
I also aspirationally started a blog of my bucket list, 99 Things To Do Before I Die ; completing the crowdfunding campaign covers 3 items on my bucket-list.
> ITEM #10of99 – START A BUSINESS
> ITEM #27of99 – START A CHARITY
> ITEM #28of99 – SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE A CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
I am fundraising for the opportunity to create a role for myself within my desired profession for a minimum of 12 months.
Having spent around 10 years learning and growing in an unpaid capacity within my role to develop a platform and system to enable greater support for those suffering from poverty.
I want to do this professional in a paid capacity and enable others to partner and get on board too...
In terms of systems and information, it is not massively complicated, the only difficult part is finding the specific dream roles for those that want to get back into the labour market and how to facilitate them doing so in a long-term and sustainable manner.
At its most basic, the software system comprises of customer self-serve functionality, including back-end client management for individual cases, property management and applicant tracking functionality.
We are fundamentally creating an integrated system that can be used by multiple organisations/parties with a common goal and interest, to better the lives of those whom need the most support, avoiding duplication and replication of data/information and creating more efficient practices overall.
Creating both a network and team of collaborators to assist the end-user.
Along with newly found friends whom wish to support the ongoing development of the concept.
Teamwork at the heart of what we are building.
What we are funding for is 4x staff over a 12-month period:
> 1 myself to do a bit of everything and work on the front-line directly with organisations and service users
> 3x developers whom are redeveloping the existing system architecture.
We are looking for a small office for us to base ourselves in and grow in, while we intend to continuously develop ourselves, and the systems locally.
As part of our infrastructure, some funds are allocated to upgrade our existing tech and cover hosting of the web platform and database for a minimum term of 1 year.
Meet The Daydreamer Team:
Richard Narayan (Chief Daydreamer), I initially launched and started the idea of the Daydreamer Project over the last 10 years, decided to risk it all and practically give up everything dear to me, including some of my sanity for a dream nobody can see but me. But a dream worth fighting for nevertheless...
All 3 of my friends and colleagues, ANJELA, PRAGNESH and NIKI were all interns I’d worked with from DMU Graduate Champions Scheme for a period of 6 weeks.
> Anjela initially interned post-graduation in late 2019, and maintained an ongoing friendship with me thereafter and has been massively supportive ever since.
Pragnesh and Niki just recently completed their 6-week internship in March 2021 and expressed a strong desire to continue working together towards achieving common goals and completing what they started to build.
> Pragnesh - "I studied ‘Information and Communication Technology at De Montfort University (DMU). The IT sector fascinates me a lot, as the field requires creative minded people and I like to stay creative when it comes to a project/building product. I have involved in Web developing role because Web Developing is my speciality and I prefer to use my knowledge and skill to do the task. What makes Web developing more fascinating is, connecting Back-End to Front-End and how functions are set in a manner that it makes it very viable from human daily task. The evolution of the ideas keeps me intact to the IT industry."
> Niki - “I spent my childhood in Bangladesh with my parents, grew up as an only child, sharing great bonding with my paternal cousins. I came to the UK and got the chance to complete my studies, so decided to go for the most trending sector, IT. I graduated from Computing BSc Hons at De Montfort University in 2020, and am trying to get my first job. Developing is something that helps me to be more creative and knowledgeable. I love my profession as a Software Developer. Computer has always fascinated me form childhood. My life centres around improving humanity and I love where I am at right now. I feel for the homeless, and I would be glad to have a chance to work with them, and to help them to find their path in life. I like to go out, watch movies, but I also read a lot, trying to improve my knowledge of human psychology, and understanding better.”
All 4 of us have all graduated from the same university, which is De Montfort University, Leicester. We all have a massive passion for learning, a drive to succeed and a goal of helping others.
I intend to work with my new found colleagues on a long-term basis, building a platform that I once envisioned, along with their support, I intend to create an enterprise within which they will have long-term value, gain some great memories and some amazing life experiences.
Over the course of 12 months, we will be building sustainability elements and revenue models into the platform to make it financially viable long-term in order to continue our work for the years to come. At this stage, the crowd-funding enables us to work on putting completing the integrated internal software solution with the service user at the core. We will iteratively grow and improve our offering and keep you posted on progress and developments as and when they happen.
OUR PLEDGE:
> At reaching our target, every £1000 raised to target and beyond, we guarantee to get 1 current or ex homeless person into employment with 12 months
COMMERCIAL INCENTIVE:
> Commercial donors will receive recruitment advice/support, online job board advertising and some ongoing promotion
> Richard Narayan: “To aid our service users and gain a better understanding of the organisations we recruit for. I will personally work within any organisation proactively recruiting individuals from a homeless background for a week to better understand the business”
INDIVIDUAL INCENTIVE:
> Any individuals referring a homeless person to us will receive regular progress updates.
> If we are able to assist them into housing and long-term employment you will be rewarded £15 (GBP).
I do not give up very easily, nor do I tend to quit, however in any event, should I fail to achieve the goal set out, to raise the necessary funds, after a period of approximately 30 days, I will have to get a job. I won’t be working within my dream job nor a role I created for myself, but alas, at least I tried.
I enjoy working and having a constructive routine, having something to do is massively fulfilling rather than doing nothing at all. Having not had a proper job in a long time and been chasing this dream, there is only so long that one can chase a single dream and idea for.
This crowdfunding campaign lets me affirm whether there is belief beyond just myself in my abilities and a concept.
I will, in the event that I fail, get a job, work 9-5 and admit defeat, for I have chased a single vision relentlessly for over 10 years now. Along with my new-found colleagues and friends, we will return to the job-market and get conventional roles and wake up from that which was a long daydream.
I’ve failed to bring this enterprise as was my vision to fruition repeatedly and repeatedly failed, learned, got back up, tried again and repeated the process. I know that I will probably end up getting a job within a similar organisation with a similar value-set to be able to do something constructive and fulfilling.
I’m not really afraid of the world of work and will within reason do almost anything. I have not given up to-date simply because I figure those I envisage helping don’t get a say in simply giving up and walking away.
Follow us and engage on SOCIAL MEDIA, as over the coming 30 days, I’ll be posting daily with videos regarding the concept and updates on progress:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/daydreamerprojectuk/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagtam.com/daydreamerprojectuk/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DaydreamerProj
LINKEDIN: https://linkedin.com/company/daydreamerproject
YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/user/DaydreamerProjectUK
I will end with a quote that I tend to have had on my CV for a long time:
"Ability is nothing without opportunity"
I can do this!
I know I can do this, I just need a little faith and a little time...
We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and assisting us in assisting us to work in the professions of our dreams so that we can help others get their dreams jobs too.
I, Richard Narayan, an avid Daydreamer have for an extended period had a passion for helping those less fortunate than ourselves, including the homeless. From when I first gave food to someone in need on the street and asking what more it was that I could do, I decided I wanted to help change their lives for the better.
I realised over time that the best way to helping homeless people would be to create sustainability and assisting them in finding long-term employment in a job of their dreams. However, getting homeless people into employment is a massively complicated task in itself.
Due to the complexities, level of information required and number of agencies to work with, I’m putting together a software system to facilitate the transition of those suffering from poverty, homelessness, long-term unemployment, offenders having difficulties finding work and other similar communities.
This is my crowdfunding page to ideally source finance and support to continue the development of this idea and turn it into a long-term viable solution.
FULL STORY
I have always been an avid daydreamer; sometimes more dreams than action.
For as long as I remember, I've looked up at the stars and dreamt of the possibilities of what could be.
I believe in the power of aspiration and target-setting towards achieving your dreams and long-term goals.
Anything is possible, if only we have the courage to chase our dreams.
(Famous saying, right? Maybe you've heard it at least once before?)
No dream is ever too big, and no dream too small…
Over a lifetime, I’ve heard continuously heard from homeless people that they dream of working and getting themselves out of poverty, if only they had the chance.
For more than 10 or so years, I’ve worked with a variety of organisations in the sector and attempted to put in place mechanisms to help get individuals into their ideal job role.
I’m trying to set up an organisation specifically designed to take homeless people off the street and get them into long-term employment; with an organisational ethos of assisting individuals achieve their dreams.
The Daydreamer Project was the name I gave the 2-year window within which I proposed to get each person into their aspired job role.
Fundamentally, a form of social recruitment initiative designed to facilitate the hardest to reach communities into work; which included the homeless, long-term unemployed, ex-offenders, veterans and other marginalised communities off the streets and into work to create greater sustainability.
Each person a project in the making and continuously developing…
The Daydreamer Initiative is the charitable arm of the organisation which focuses on getting individuals the support they need in order to better their lives and get to a point where they can proactively seek and sustain employment.
Both work hand-in-hand to ensure treating underlying causes of homeless and unemployment and then supporting into employment.
Due to the way in which I process information and view the world around me, it can be very difficult to process the vast amount of information required to enrol/register, and ongoingly work with each service user in order to get them into a better way of life.
The mountain of paperwork required and the number of calls made can be highly overwhelming for anyone.
What I realised over the course of the last 10 years is that my idea was not as simple as I’d envisaged. To get homeless people into work, is a massively complicated task.
No two service users are ever the same and no two individuals have the same set of needs. There is a vast amount of information that must be processed at a variety of different touchpoints in order to achieve a desired end-outcome in-line with what the user would like.
I devised a simple hierarchical process model to be able to partner with organisations and assist in achieving common long-term goals for the benefit of service users. I figure the only way to combat poverty and homelessness is by individuals and organisations working together more cohesively.
There are a number of organisations working to help those suffering from poverty, homelessness and similar conditions alike, so this allows us to create an internal marker and process for each stage they’re currently at.
Homelessness requires addressing a variety of long-term needs:
> Food poverty
> Accessing a home and shelter
> Improving life conditions and maintaining sustainability
> Accessing employment
> Having long-term goals to work towards
To be able to better manage next steps:
Our core focus is EMPLOYMENT; however, individuals must be at a point of being “Job Ready” before they can be referred for employment.
One thing I have learned over time is that unfortunately, you cannot help everybody. Those who seek assistance and want to change will find you and will proactively engage and try and make their lives better. Those who do not will continue to reject support that is offered. That is unfortunately one of the harsh realities of life.
It is also not simply as easy as simply offering a homeless person a job.
You need some form of stable housing, food and nourishment, to be free of addictions and the dealings with the criminal justice systems.
> Combating food poverty and ability to have breakfast/dinner
> Having a home and permanent address
> Somewhere safe to put your head at night
> Shower facilities to freshen up
> Creating a routine and improving life skills
> Ongoing mental health support (where needed)
> Financial advice and support while seeking employment
> Drug/alcohol support
There are a variety of needs that need to be taken into account and a complex array of underlying causes to either addiction or homelessness that may have led an individual to the avenue at which they present themselves to you. Conducting a full needs assessment and recommending services and solutions tailored to each individual rather than a blanket approach is normally more effective.
Being financially sustainable and being better able to manage your finances, having a hot shower in the morning and waking up in a warm bed is priceless to someone whom has not had the luxury for a long time.
Simple things that we take for granted on a day-to-day basis, other people can only dream of.
Once in a more constructive environment, individuals are able to get ongoing support, training and establish how best to engage with the job-market to gain long-term sustainability.
At heart, I am a very data-driven and methodical individual and as part of my role, I want to learn and understand as much about the individuals I intend to help long-term. Using a centralised database, we can manage and report on success rates, address commonalities between individuals and groups on a local/national level.
I found a few screen shots of functionalities and tables that I had initially envisaged implementing a number of years ago when I first had the idea to be able to implement an end-to-end process, so am sharing the below as it gives a greater understanding of what was initially the original idea.
The irony is, it has been a number of years since I initially devised the below needs and requirements and a number of years later, having revisited the document today, it occurs to me that fundamentally not much has changed.
I am still embedding almost all of the below mentioned functionality in some capacity and have not really strayed from the original idea a great deal.
Post-development, I appreciate that there may be some ongoing iterations and changes required on an ongoing basis, depending on user requirements and necessary functionality, including best/worst case scenario. Below you can see a conceptual list of general functionalities.
ADMIN USERS/STAFF PORTAL – have relevant access to the system and information pools depending on requirements and functionality
• Candidates – All candidates loaded onto the system
• Organisations – List of organisations and businesses
• Clients – List of active clients
• Contacts – List of contacts within organisations
• Jobs/Packages – Advertised and available jobs including job packages available for external purchase
• Timesheets – Candidate time-sheets or client time-sheet requirements
• Case Management – Individual candidate/service user case management
• Calendar – Gregorian calendar depicting all events in a chronological format
• Events – List of all events in table/list format
• Training – Training programs and list of training providers
• Data – Raw data and information
• Blog – Link to external blog, list of published blog posts and future pending posts
• Email templates – Standardised templates for outgoing emails depending on automated nature
CANDIDATE PORTAL: Candidate login functionality to be able to upload information to both avoid continuous duplication and also enable efficient progression
• Personal Info – Input and update personal information
• Employment history – Update employment history
• Educational history – Update educational history
• Equal opportunities monitoring -
• Timesheets
• Case Management
• Jobs – Recommended jobs, previously applied for roles, current applications and feedback
• Calendar – Calendarised view of past, present and upcoming events
• Events – List of past, present and upcoming events
• Psych test – Access to onboarding and psychometric tests, past and previous results
• Resume/profiles – Updated CVs and Cover letters in single storage
• Training – Past/present/future training and qualifications gained
• Higher needs questions – Additional support requirements
ACTIVE CLIENT – LOGIN VIA CLIENT PORTAL
• Jobs – Active jobs list
• Candidates – List of active past and present candidates, including referred candidates and feedback provided
• Contracts – Past/present contracts
• Timesheets – Past and present timesheets on a per candidate basis
• Case Management – If actively involved in supporting candidate/service user in a specialist and professional capacity
• Calendar – Calendarised view of past, present and future events
• Events – List view of past, present and future events
• Training – Any past, present and future training
• Blog – Blog functionality
In order to be proactive long-term, we have to address the underlying issues relating to the causes of homelessness to be able to implement preventative measures in the future, including obtaining the right support when required.
The more proactive we can be, the less reactive we have to be!
I am interested in creating a growing support network for those that need it the most…
I also want to reduce the cost of homelessness on the TAX PAYER and SOCIETY in general as an avoidable cost.
There are costs including cost of healthcare, support and the criminal justice system.
These are all reduced by enabling individuals to grow positively and engage in society in a constructive manner.
Did you know homeless people are more likely to die young, with an average age of death of 47 years old and even lower for homeless women at 43, compared to 77 for the general population, 74 for men and 80 for women.
As I’ve been chasing this dream for over 10 years now and faced numerous hurdles.
Hurdles are inevitable in life, it's whether we give up that is a choice!
I’ve got to decide on whether I get a conventional job or continue to try and change the world; even just for a few.
I've now got to fight tooth and nail for my own dreams…
I also aspirationally started a blog of my bucket list, 99 Things To Do Before I Die ; completing the crowdfunding campaign covers 3 items on my bucket-list.
> ITEM #10of99 – START A BUSINESS
> ITEM #27of99 – START A CHARITY
> ITEM #28of99 – SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE A CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
I am fundraising for the opportunity to create a role for myself within my desired profession for a minimum of 12 months.
Having spent around 10 years learning and growing in an unpaid capacity within my role to develop a platform and system to enable greater support for those suffering from poverty.
I want to do this professional in a paid capacity and enable others to partner and get on board too...
In terms of systems and information, it is not massively complicated, the only difficult part is finding the specific dream roles for those that want to get back into the labour market and how to facilitate them doing so in a long-term and sustainable manner.
At its most basic, the software system comprises of customer self-serve functionality, including back-end client management for individual cases, property management and applicant tracking functionality.
We are fundamentally creating an integrated system that can be used by multiple organisations/parties with a common goal and interest, to better the lives of those whom need the most support, avoiding duplication and replication of data/information and creating more efficient practices overall.
Creating both a network and team of collaborators to assist the end-user.
Along with newly found friends whom wish to support the ongoing development of the concept.
Teamwork at the heart of what we are building.
What we are funding for is 4x staff over a 12-month period:
> 1 myself to do a bit of everything and work on the front-line directly with organisations and service users
> 3x developers whom are redeveloping the existing system architecture.
We are looking for a small office for us to base ourselves in and grow in, while we intend to continuously develop ourselves, and the systems locally.
As part of our infrastructure, some funds are allocated to upgrade our existing tech and cover hosting of the web platform and database for a minimum term of 1 year.
Meet The Daydreamer Team:
Richard Narayan (Chief Daydreamer), I initially launched and started the idea of the Daydreamer Project over the last 10 years, decided to risk it all and practically give up everything dear to me, including some of my sanity for a dream nobody can see but me. But a dream worth fighting for nevertheless...
All 3 of my friends and colleagues, ANJELA, PRAGNESH and NIKI were all interns I’d worked with from DMU Graduate Champions Scheme for a period of 6 weeks.
> Anjela initially interned post-graduation in late 2019, and maintained an ongoing friendship with me thereafter and has been massively supportive ever since.
Pragnesh and Niki just recently completed their 6-week internship in March 2021 and expressed a strong desire to continue working together towards achieving common goals and completing what they started to build.
> Pragnesh - "I studied ‘Information and Communication Technology at De Montfort University (DMU). The IT sector fascinates me a lot, as the field requires creative minded people and I like to stay creative when it comes to a project/building product. I have involved in Web developing role because Web Developing is my speciality and I prefer to use my knowledge and skill to do the task. What makes Web developing more fascinating is, connecting Back-End to Front-End and how functions are set in a manner that it makes it very viable from human daily task. The evolution of the ideas keeps me intact to the IT industry."
> Niki - “I spent my childhood in Bangladesh with my parents, grew up as an only child, sharing great bonding with my paternal cousins. I came to the UK and got the chance to complete my studies, so decided to go for the most trending sector, IT. I graduated from Computing BSc Hons at De Montfort University in 2020, and am trying to get my first job. Developing is something that helps me to be more creative and knowledgeable. I love my profession as a Software Developer. Computer has always fascinated me form childhood. My life centres around improving humanity and I love where I am at right now. I feel for the homeless, and I would be glad to have a chance to work with them, and to help them to find their path in life. I like to go out, watch movies, but I also read a lot, trying to improve my knowledge of human psychology, and understanding better.”
All 4 of us have all graduated from the same university, which is De Montfort University, Leicester. We all have a massive passion for learning, a drive to succeed and a goal of helping others.
I intend to work with my new found colleagues on a long-term basis, building a platform that I once envisioned, along with their support, I intend to create an enterprise within which they will have long-term value, gain some great memories and some amazing life experiences.
Over the course of 12 months, we will be building sustainability elements and revenue models into the platform to make it financially viable long-term in order to continue our work for the years to come. At this stage, the crowd-funding enables us to work on putting completing the integrated internal software solution with the service user at the core. We will iteratively grow and improve our offering and keep you posted on progress and developments as and when they happen.
OUR PLEDGE:
> At reaching our target, every £1000 raised to target and beyond, we guarantee to get 1 current or ex homeless person into employment with 12 months
COMMERCIAL INCENTIVE:
> Commercial donors will receive recruitment advice/support, online job board advertising and some ongoing promotion
> Richard Narayan: “To aid our service users and gain a better understanding of the organisations we recruit for. I will personally work within any organisation proactively recruiting individuals from a homeless background for a week to better understand the business”
INDIVIDUAL INCENTIVE:
> Any individuals referring a homeless person to us will receive regular progress updates.
> If we are able to assist them into housing and long-term employment you will be rewarded £15 (GBP).
I do not give up very easily, nor do I tend to quit, however in any event, should I fail to achieve the goal set out, to raise the necessary funds, after a period of approximately 30 days, I will have to get a job. I won’t be working within my dream job nor a role I created for myself, but alas, at least I tried.
I enjoy working and having a constructive routine, having something to do is massively fulfilling rather than doing nothing at all. Having not had a proper job in a long time and been chasing this dream, there is only so long that one can chase a single dream and idea for.
This crowdfunding campaign lets me affirm whether there is belief beyond just myself in my abilities and a concept.
I will, in the event that I fail, get a job, work 9-5 and admit defeat, for I have chased a single vision relentlessly for over 10 years now. Along with my new-found colleagues and friends, we will return to the job-market and get conventional roles and wake up from that which was a long daydream.
I’ve failed to bring this enterprise as was my vision to fruition repeatedly and repeatedly failed, learned, got back up, tried again and repeated the process. I know that I will probably end up getting a job within a similar organisation with a similar value-set to be able to do something constructive and fulfilling.
I’m not really afraid of the world of work and will within reason do almost anything. I have not given up to-date simply because I figure those I envisage helping don’t get a say in simply giving up and walking away.
Follow us and engage on SOCIAL MEDIA, as over the coming 30 days, I’ll be posting daily with videos regarding the concept and updates on progress:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/daydreamerprojectuk/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagtam.com/daydreamerprojectuk/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DaydreamerProj
LINKEDIN: https://linkedin.com/company/daydreamerproject
YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/user/DaydreamerProjectUK
I will end with a quote that I tend to have had on my CV for a long time:
"Ability is nothing without opportunity"
I can do this!
I know I can do this, I just need a little faith and a little time...
We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and assisting us in assisting us to work in the professions of our dreams so that we can help others get their dreams jobs too.
