I have been at Emmaus Dover for ten months now and it’s the first Emmaus community that I have lived at.
Life before Emmaus
I was meant to be in supporting lodging with my foster carers – I have been in foster care most of my life – but the placement broke down and I had nowhere to live so I went to stay with my mate and ended up staying with him for about a year. I was then found placement at the Amber Foundation where you can learn life skills and they helped me to start trying to get work experience, I lived there for around nine months. I had a friend who already lived here at Emmaus Dover and said how much they liked it so I applied to live here and got accepted.
I like it here
I like it here as it means I can work and gain new skills. I really enjoy working in the second-hand shop and on the vans. Every day is different in the shop and the vans allow me to go out into the local community delivering or collecting furniture and get a little rest from the shop as it can be quite busy! We have a weekly rota which means we all get the chance to work in each area of the community.
I really enjoy the support of the community here which I would affectionately describe as a dysfunctional family! We all have each other’s back and we all support each other.
When I was living with my friend, before Amber and Emmaus, I got addicted to drugs and alcohol. Living here at Emmaus Dover means I have the support I need, it has screwed my head back on and put me back on the right path. If it wasn’t for this place I’d probably still be on the wrong path.
I have also been able to take some training since I have been here to help me learn new skills. I have completed training in First Aid, Food Hygiene, Manual Handling, GDPR, and Fire Warden. I have also asked to do some more including Banksman, Customer Service, and Cyber Security.
The staff here are always ready to offer their support
In the future, I would really like to join the Royal Engineers on the mechanical side, repairing machines and the staff here are going to help me apply in a few months. The staff here are always ready to offer their support with any aspect of my life.
Another aspect I enjoy here is seeing the regular customers and meeting the new ones. Some of the customers don’t know what Emmaus is about so I enjoy telling them about it and it’s really nice seeing them leave here having found a bargain.
I have also spent around four months rough sleeping; I had a little experience to help me during this time from cadets and I had my own tent so I pitched up in some woods. It was really tough and you get into the mind frame that this is now your future. Every night was cold and windy and every item of clothing you own becomes a blanket to try and keep warm. If someone is sleeping rough and is nervous about approaching Emmaus I would say that any big step in life is going to be terrifying but there is support here and people who have also experienced homelessness and difficulties in their lives so we can all relate and help one another.