I’ve been volunteering at Emmaus Norfolk & Waveney for about a year and a half and it’s a great team to be a part of.
Around August last year, I started volunteering after being aware of Emmaus for a little while. We live really close so it’s great to be able to get out of the house and get stuck into a project but know I’m helping our local community.
I’d gotten into carpentry at home, making various things around the house and when I came to volunteer here, I knew I wanted to use my skills the best I can. I come in twice a week and make carved birdhouses that sell in the shop, the customers love them! At Christmas I made a whole fleet of wooden reindeer for the reindeer trail – I’m always up for a challenge!
It’s a great way of recycling scrap wood. We get a lot of deliveries of white goods for the Norfolk Assistance Scheme delivered in pallets and the wood would otherwise just go to waste. I love looking at a piece and thinking about what I can turn it into.
I’ve always been a very creative person and working in the workshop suits me brilliantly. I get really absorbed in what I’m making. I love having the companions around to help or offer advice.
I used to work for a homelessness charity in Bristol, called The Methodist Centre, and hearing people’s stories who came through the door was so humbling. It made me realise how similar we all are and how much we all need each other. The things I learned and the people I met while working there have stuck with me for a very long time. That experience drew me to volunteer at Emmaus. The community here really changes lives and I still love hearing companions’ stories of how they came to Emmaus.
Everyone should try and give something back. If you ever had to experience sleeping rough, sofa surfing or not knowing where your next night was going to be – you’d want someone to help you out, in anyway way they can.
The history of Emmaus is very inspirational. If Abbe Pierre hadn’t been so motivated if he had not bothered to begin making homes for the homeless, then this amazing movement wouldn’t be here and so many lives wouldn’t be changed. And the fact that I’m a part of that, well it’s amazing.
I love the Emmaus concept. To me Emmaus offers hope. It gives people a chance to get back on their feet and provides security and safety as people work out their way forward.
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