Setting up Emmaus Communities
Emmaus Communities are set up when local people decide that the tried and tested Emmaus approach to homelessness would benefit their area. If initial research and consultation establishes that there is a need and local circumstances are right, volunteers come together as an Emmaus Group.
Key stages in setting up an Emmaus Community
- Forming a local steering group of volunteers with a range of skills and backgrounds
- Finding out about Emmaus and how Communities work.
- Looking at local homelessness and furniture re-use provision to make sure that there would be demand for an Emmaus Community
- Acquiring a suitable site for both the residential and business parts of the Community
- Raising the money to build or convert premises and set up the business
- Recruiting the staff who will run the Community
Current Emmaus Groups
There are currently Emmaus Groups in:
- Burnley
- Colchester
- Exeter
- Hampshire
- Hastings and Rother
- Hull
- Liverpool
- Medway
- Oxford
- Rugby
- Salford
In addition, there are also new initiatives in some other areas, which may not yet have been accepted into the Emmaus Federation. To find out about these, contact the relevant Regional Development Officer.
Find out more
To find out more about setting up a Community or hear about any new Emmaus developments in your area, contact the relevant Regional Development Officer by phone, or email any of them on contact@emmaus.org.uk:
- Sandi Filby (East and West Midlands, Yorkshire), 01283 522891
- Michelle Longman (part-time) (East of England), 01480 830377
- Sasha Williams (North East and North West), 01229 861073
- Peter Milligan (South West and Wales), 01392 257755
If your area isn’t covered by a Regional Development Officer, contact David Chenery, Development Team Manager, on 01223 576103 or use the email address above.
