I joined Emmaus in May 2024, so I am still very new at the moment. As a support coordinator, I am responsible for making sure the companions are attaining their goals and that they are supported with any problems that they face. I also deal with applications and referrals or help companions move on when they are ready to do so. There is also a health and safety element to my job as I am responsible for logging any maintenance issues at the community home.
Why I joined Emmaus
I felt that the Emmaus ethos really resonated with me; I am passionate about sustainability and the reuse/recycle element of the social enterprise struck a chord in me. I have a background in care as a previous career and was interested in learning new skills and supporting a new group of people in a different way to what I had done previously. I am grateful for being given a chance. I empathise a lot with the companions as I have faced various barriers throughout my life, and I feel I can provide that personal touch to my support.
My favourite part of Emmaus
I feel that we have a great management team who are very supportive and listen to us. The companions make every day at work different with barriers to overcome and I enjoy helping them to thrive. It can be a very busy and challenging work environment but I find it extremely fulfilling.
I have not worked for Emmaus for long but from my limited time here so far, I have built up a strong rapport with the companions. I have been confided in and trusted by people who don’t know me particularly well and despite it being part of my job I find it touching.
Misconceptions about homelessness
People have this idea that homelessness is brought on by poor decisions such as drug taking, poor financial choices etc but many people are simply victims of circumstance or come from an intensely traumatic background which sets them up to fail. It is up to us to support them in finding their feet and working through their barriers.
Why Emmaus is important
I feel it is important for people to know that we are doing everything we can to support the companions who are in our care. Anyone can become homeless and we are all much closer to it than we think, charities such as ours are so important in helping people find their feet again in the face of adversity.
What’s next?
We have our new Cheltenham store opening up soon and we are currently working on supporting more new companions, it will be great to see some new faces and help more people moving forward.