Randy Swain-Johnson was homeless for the holidays. Without gainful employment for more than a year, he lost his flat in London at the beginning of December and found himself “sleeping rough” in a bitterly cold public park.
“I was putting in applications for jobs, but nothing was happening,” says Swain-Johnson, who has an extensive background in accounting. “I was getting lots of rejections, and sometimes not even a phone call.”
In desperation, he posted an SOS on LinkedIn. Lots of people wished him well, but none of the responses led to a permanent job.
Then Vernon Dias read the post. He identified with Swain-Johnson’s situation—years before, Dias found himself living on the streets. His first business folded, and he and his family were homeless for three months.
“It brought back some painful memories,” says Dias, founder of the digital agency Made by Fire. “When my first business went under, I lost everything. One day I was worth a few million, and the next day I had nothing.”
Dias contacted Swain-Johnson and asked him to come to his office at WeWork Aldgate Tower. Swain-Johnson was a little embarrassed, since the only thing he had to wear was “the shirt on my back.” He felt more at ease when he met Dias, who was wearing a T-shirt that revealed arms covered with colorful tattoos.
What was supposed to be a half-hour interview ended up lasting more than two hours. Dias was impressed that after everything he had been through, Swain-Johnson was “quite happy and positive.” After introducing him to the rest of the staff, Dias decided to offer Swain-Johnson a job as the company’s financial controller.
Swain-Johnson’s first day on the job was last week. He immediately felt at home, saying the Made by Fire team treated him “like a family.”
This isn’t the first time Dias has helped out someone down on his luck. Although his digital agency is based in London, the bulk of his 75-person staff is in his native India. Each year, as part of the company’s Swivel program, Made by Fire hires five people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Many of their stories are just as inspiring as Swain-Johnson’s. Fahim Hussain, a hire from 2015, was parking cars after his app to let people order meals from nearby food carts couldn’t get enough funding. Dias gave him a job and invested in his business.
And earlier this year when she was working as a bartender at a networking event, Oksana Pariy mentioned how difficult it was for her to find a job in UX. Dias responded by offering her a position at his company.
“Our Swivel program helps us turn someone’s life around,” says Dias. “We believe that if you give them an opportunity, most people will take it from there.”
Dias posted about hiring Swain-Johnson earlier this month on LinkedIn. He wasn’t sure what the reception would be.
“I was thinking I would get slammed for this,” says Dias. “Maybe people might take it the wrong way.”
But almost 50,000 people gave his post a thumbs-up. More than that, he got personal messages from 3,000 people. Many said he had stirred them to do more to help homeless people.
“People have been sending me notes asking if I hear about someone in need, to please send them their way,” Dias says.
He also got a call from “someone pretty high up in a political party” to run for public office.
And Swain-Johnson? After finding a job and a place to live, he’s increased his own volunteer work. His passion is helping out older people who are down on their luck. He collects food from local restaurants and distributes them to people living in transitional housing.
“I’ve been getting fan mail from strangers saying that I’d been such an inspiration to them,” says Swain-Johnson. “I decided that I would pass on that kindness toward someone else once I get settled.”
Dias says he wasn’t surprised that Swain-Johnson was so intent on paying it forward.
“Everyone has the opportunity to do some good,” says Dias. “Our whole idea was to inspire people to notice these kind of opportunities and do something about it.”
