My name is James, I’m 33 years old and have been at Emmaus Leeds since early 2025. I’m originally from Bramley, a town near Leeds.
I grew up with my parents and three siblings until my mum and dad got divorced. I lived with dad for ten years and then I decided to join the armed forces for three years. I came home because my dad started getting unwell as he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and dementia. I helped to look after him but he died in 2024 and that’s when I became homeless.
Street homelessness
Living on the streets was a horrible and frightening experience. I never felt safe, it’s a dangerous place and people even stole off me. I was lucky because I was still getting Universal Credit, so I had enough money for food but not enough to find a place to live. I’d spend the daytime trying to find shelter for the night ahead. The night times were the worst as there were scary and strange people around.
It was a mixed bag with how people treated me. Some were nice and offered spare change, but some people were horrid, making nasty comments and being judgmental about my situation but they didn’t know the half of it. I spent about four or five months living on the streets, and during that time I just kept thinking; ‘when I’m out of this I want to help people in similar situations’.
I went to St George’s Crypt and it was there that they put me in touch with places that could help me. I managed to get into supported accommodation, but I became really overwhelmed with managing bills and finances, so I went back to the Crypt and they helped me to put a referral in with Emmaus Leeds.
Life at Emmaus Leeds
Since coming to Emmaus Leeds, I’ve been very busy, in a good way. I’ve done all sorts like helping on the shop floor, being on the vans (which I like the best) and helping out with the kitchen and cleaning. I do like to cook, my dad was an experimental kind of cook and I think I take after him, which is nice to think about. When I’m on the shop floor, I like to help customers – it’s nice being able to help people. I’ve recently done manual handling training and I’m looking forward to doing more training. I think that learning new things is always good.
Since coming here my life has become so much better. I’ve made new friends and have been able to get support with my mental health. The staff have helped me to understand my mental health a lot more.
Emmaus is a warm and welcoming charity and the donations help people like me to get their life back on track. Whenever we get donations we are all really grateful. The staff here are just amazing and they are always here to help.