‘Working to live and give’.

Emmaus Sheffield wishes all our friends and supporters all the best for the year ahead. We also offer a warm welcome to those that dont know us so well.

As we reflect on last year one of the areas we have been looking at is the number of first time customers we had and the number of people who follow and support us through social media.

Jan - Dec 2016 saw us receive 3937 first time customers, we engaged with around 100.000 people on social media with over 5000 people following us on a daily basis. Our online sales attracted 1034 sales with 87% being new customers and finally this blog has been viewed over 5000 times.

Why mention all this, well its in a way of apology to all those that know us well and to explain why this post is going to explain who and what we are here at Emmaus Sheffield for the benefit of all those that may not understand Emmaus as a charity.

Emmaus Sheffield shares its tag line with the other Emmaus' in the UK "Working together to end homelessness." We think of ourselves as a homeless charity, but with a difference, well a number of differences. I borrowed the following statement partly from another Emmaus and added to it as a concise definition of what we aim for at Emmaus Sheffield;

"Motivate, lead and empower people who have an experience of homelessness to be the agents of their own recovery, while embedding our values which include ‘working to live and give’.- Emmaus Norwich - Whilst providing safe accommodation without working to set time scales."

So in plain English what does this actually mean? Emmaus Sheffield provides accommodation, employment, support, training, food board and opportunities to 18 people with an experience of homelessness in exchange for 37 hours work per week in one of our social enterprises.

There is no minimum or maximum length of stay. Our service users known as companions stop claiming government benefits except for housing benefit - which is available to anyone working on a low income. - Instead they receive a minimal weekly financial allowance in addition to the services mentioned above.

The central ethos of Emmaus is not what can you do for me but instead what can I do for you. Companions work is in exchange for the services they receive. Emmaus also believes that there is always someone worst off than yourself and as a community Emmaus Sheffield is in a position to help others in need in local, national and international society.

Companions are encouraged to see that life is more rewarding when we contribute to it. And that the social security culture offers no long term benefits. That by giving and using their skills and life experiences over a period of time in the right environment builds confidence, self worth and value and helps to encourage a desire to be fully involved in there own personal development with the end goal of being a production member of society.

This, of course is a very brief and concise explanation of Emmaus Sheffield, so please if you wish to find out more visit our website or pop into the shop Emmaus Superstore Sheffield where someone will be more than happy to have a chat, and remember have a great 2017.

We need you!

Its winter again and our favourite Christmas gift is here, care for the homeless is here once again, but remember the homeless are only for Christmas not the rest of the year.

A very cynical view, and most years it would be one that I would happily adopt. Not so much this year though. Homelessness and housing has been a hot political potatoe this year with a lot of activism surrounding it.

Although real political action to change the situation has still to happy I feel at least it is or has been on the political agenda in a real way, and there have been discussions on a political level around homeless support agencies and a widened understanding of what they can actually do.

Emmaus Sheffield being one of these agencies having received an unusual amount of attention this year by our local MP's who have all been very supportive of us and others in the field.

At this time of year it is hard to miss homeless agencies reaching out to the public for financial support, it feels like everyone has their hand out looking for you to help.

This is not a position that you will find Emmaus Sheffield taking, we do need your help and we do need your money to provide the accommodation, employment, training and support that we other to the guys that are part of our community. What we ask of you is you come and shop with us.

We at Emmaus Superstore Sheffield will happily take your cash from you, but in exchange you will leave with a great bargain. We have all of your Christmas needs covered - if you can think of it, the chances are we have it. - along with all your major house hold items, including, furniture, white goods , books, music, films, clothing, toys  and everything inbetween.

So this Christmas, let us all gain something from helping the homeless, drop in, spend a few quid and take away a treat.

"It should never of happened!"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tragedy-unknown-homeless-man-found-9372526?ICID=FB_mirror_main

I read this article online this week and ignored the headline, as I said when posting it on Facebook no matter what the actual cause of death was I'm sure none of us want to go out that way. Homelessness is not one dimensional but multi-faceted.

I can remember many nights shivering the night away wondering if I would make it to morning, I remember a friend out for the count in Piccadilly circus with a needle still hanging out of his arm with the world just passing him buy. Another homeless 24 year old dying due to gangrene in his leg, and another beaten to death just for being homeless.

The stories go on and on, year after year. I think for most of us it can be overwhelming at times we are bombarded with pain and suffering day in and day out via the media whether it be near or far. I can remember commenting before that I quite often become numb to it all, almost to the point of not caring, but then a single incident reminds me that I do care, for me this is one of those.

"It should never of happened!" Was the comment left by one Facebook follower on the post. Sometimes the simplest comments are the most powerful.

We like to think that we live in such a wealthy, advanced and educated country but do we really?

St Martins in the Fields, the church in Trafalgar Square London, the Anglican parish church for 10 Downing Street will soon be holding its annual memorial service for all the homeless that have died on the streets in the last 12 months.

Between 2001 - 2009 1731 homeless people died in the UK. That averages 173 a year, 90% male and an average age of just 47, but with many much younger. I wonder how many times I've walked past that drunken bum just crashed out in the street, but was he?

St Martins has had a social care unit in the crypts under the church since the end of the first world war when it opened its doors to offer shelter and support to widows and orphans of the war. Very similar to the birth of Emmaus at the end of the second world war.

Emmaus Sheffield is part of the ever growing world wide movement that is Emmaus International. In the UK Emmaus is a homeless charity with a unique work based accommodation program. Even more uniquely Emmaus has been built on the ethos that as a member of a Emmaus community we have most of our needs met and therefore there are people out there worse off than ourselves and we are in a position to offer help and assistance to them. Emmaus in the UK is ever growing due to the ever increasing homeless problem.

Considering the end of WW1 was 100 years ago what a sad picture of our wealthy, advanced and educated country.

"It should never of happened!"

His name should be Kanye REST.

I want to make it clear from the start, I am not a fan of Kanye West. In my personal opinion his music is very hit and miss and not someone I would want to spend time with. But thats not what this post is about.

Even for someone who's past behaviour has been odd at times clearly what happened last week was a complete breakdown, supported since by his hospitalisation for exhaustion.

We all need rest, I'm just about to have a few day's off work starting today and it wasn't until I had booked it and started to think about it that I realised how much I needed some rest.

It becomes so easy to get caught up in our daily lives, our work lives. More and more of our time and energy can get consumed unintentionally and without us realising.

Its interesting that we even have to consider resting, I am someone that thinks I rest quite a lot, but in reality I dont actually REST very much at all. My mind hardly ever just drifts, even when I'm watching a movie I am often doing something at the same time, even if its just reading emails or online shopping I am still mentally active.

The world is busy, not some of the time but all of the time and we step on the tread mill and then find it hard to step off. Human beings need rest, we need time out, not time off work but actual time out from life, the world, the business. If we dont find a way to do this trouble is round the corner its unhealthy to be on the go all the time.

Some please as we approach a busy season don't forget about your own health and remember to rest.

Life's Little Roller Coaster.

For years I used to have a recurring dream of being on a little wooden roller coaster that used to go through dark tunnels and up and down, it used to remind me of a rickety old mine cart out of a kids movie. It was always a pleasant dream, but I never understood it.

Four years ago I moved to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, I went to the pleasure beach one day, and there was my little roller coaster. I realised then that I was dreaming about good childhood memories - which were few and far between -  of holidays with my aunt in Yarmouth. From that point on I have never had the dream again.

All of this has very little to do with this blog, I just thought it was an interesting side story to life's little wooden roller coaster. For the last few months I have been suffering with bad pain in my feet, due to this walking has become very difficult and very painful.

As I was hobbling along yesterday I was thinking to myself, "I'm never going to walk properly again" not a happy thought. Then I get up this morning and I'm almost pain free and can walk normally again!

No, I don't think this is a miracle, but I am thankful for the relief. More than that though it reminds me that we just never know what any given day is going to bring our way. We make plans and think we have all the answers and things are this way or that, but really we have no idea what one day or another is going to bring our way. A few months back a day brought me pain, yesterday brought me resignation to a situation and today has brought relief.

So many times in life we get lost in the midst of our situations and blinded to anything else. But we really have no idea whats round the next bend on the track or how its going to change our situation. Life twists and turns, full of ups and downs and really sometimes all we can do is just hold on tight and go with the ride knowing it will change.