I joined Emmaus Dover just after Christmas of this year. Previously, I’d been at Emmaus Merseyside, which I joined in October 2021.
I’d been sleeping rough on the streets of Liverpool. I was woken up one morning when I was sleeping on the steps outside Lime Street Station, from people who said they were from the Whitechapel Centre and could give me some food and a shower, and some clean clothes. I was suspicious at first, because not everyone has your best interests at heart when you’re homeless, so I asked them to show me some ID so that I knew they were OK! They took me to the Whitechapel Centre, and I asked them to tell me about Emmaus as a companion from Emmaus Merseyside had given me a bit of information about it two nights previously. They managed to get me the phone number for the Charity Superstore who then gave me the house number where I spoke to the Residential Manager. I had a good chat over the phone and within two hours, an Emmaus support worker turned up to bring me and another person in my predicament back on the train.
At the beginning of 2023 I moved to Emmaus Dover. I really like being by the sea, and so when I was looking at potential communities to move to I knew that I really wanted to find one that was on the coast. I support with cleaning in the community. Unfortunately I currently have some injuries, which are healing, and which means that what I can do is limited, but I still support every day with cleaning in our shared common areas, in the kitchen and the corridors.
The people here are fantastic, everyone is really approachable and they listen when you have things you want to discuss. In May I’m planning on applying for my passport, because my long-term plan is to visit and volunteer at different communities. I heard that the original Emmaus was set up by Abbe Pierre in France, so I’d love to spend some time working there if possible. You never know what is around the corner, and I really love it here – we’re right by Dover castle and the whole area is steeped in history, which I love.