Our history

A pioneer group of four companions from existing Emmaus communities built their own accommodation and started a skeleton business.

When another room was finished, and the business could afford it, the first new companion moved in, worked in the business, helped create another room and the process escalated.

Companions took ownership of their community, learnt new skills and overcame confidence and self-worth issues.

The first Emmaus community was founded in Paris, in 1949, by Father Henri-Antoine Grouès, better known as Abbé Pierre. He was an MP, Catholic priest and former member of the French Resistance who fought to provide homes for those who lived on the streets of Paris.

Emmaus had been established in France for 40 years before it came to the UK in the early 1990s, all thanks to a chance encounter at a Cambridge soup kitchen.