Why Emmaus?

"The homeless charity that works."

The above Statement is the old tag line for Emmaus in the UK. Its a play on words as one of the conditions you agree to when moving into an Emmaus community is to work 37 hours a week in one of the communities businesses.


I first joined Emmaus  just over 2 years ago. I knew prior to joining what the structure of the charity was and that working was central to the ethos of the organisation. At the time I had little to no work ethic or discipline. Two years later I am at my second community here at Emmaus Sheffield with a good work ethic and structure and discipline in my life and I have no doubt at all this is due to Emmaus.

When people think of homeless charities and homeless people they tend to think of hostels where people are given temporary accommodation with a view to moving onto independent living within two years - the time period set by the government.- This is not the case with Emmaus.

Emmaus will and does support its service users to move on, but at their pace, without a focus on independent accommodation but instead a focus on suitable accommodation. There is no time limit to how long someone can stay at Emmaus.

I am 47 and have lived what feels like a number of different life styles and situation. I've tasted the highs and lows of life. I live at Emmaus because at no time in my life have I been such a productive member of society and so at peace with myself. For me, Emmaus brings out the best of me and tolerates and supports the worst of me. I have spend my whole adult life trying to fit into a socially round hole when I'm a square peg.

During my time in Emmaus I have grown from a boy into a man, so for me the tittle of this post is easy to answer.