Companion Stories: James
"Emmaus is a new way of life that was created 50 years ago to show society that we have a new way of doing things. Emmaus is not really a charitable organization and it’s not just about homeless people, it’s a philosophy. Emmaus does not just take someone, give them a job and tell what their room number is. Emmaus is a stage of life for people who have lost hope of finding a place in society.
There are many reasons why people come to Emmaus and why they’ve lost that hope. It’s not enough to give someone a bed and some food; you need to give them hope to rebuild another life.
For me Emmaus is some kind of security but everyone who comes here has a different kind of ambition.
Emmaus allows everyone to find their own path. That’s a good thing. We have to give people choice.
In here we are 25 people but we live in peace. It’s not so easy to live together with 25 people who all have different kinds of religion, color, and background. If there is not love, comprehension or solidarity then this would not be possible.
In France Emmaus is the life of everyone, it’s an icon of society. But here in England the situation is very different because Emmaus is very young and also English society is more individualist. But I hope that in time Emmaus across the world will be as well known as Emmaus is in France."
