On the 6th and 7th of October Emmaus SLC staff and companions attended the Emmaus Assembly 2024 at the University of Warwick, Coventry. Of these were Ross (Partnerships Manager) Neil (Community Support Worker) and companions Carolina, Jan, Ed, Andy B, and Kurt.
They joined up with over 200 members from other Emmaus communities and groups from across the UK! Over the two days attendees were given the opportunity to attend workshops, participate in group activities and catch up with colleagues and friends.
The assembly was opened with a speech from Emmaus UK Chief Executive, Charlotte Talbot, who explained that this year the theme of the assembly was ‘partnerships’.
“Many people are struggling and the demand for homelessness support is increasing. The importance of community and collaboration is clear. The question is ‘how can we work together to help even more people?’” –Charlotte Talbot
Our Partnerships Manager, Ross, was asked to prepare and present two workshops. We asked him to explain more about what these workshops were about and why they were important.
Overcoming Fundraising Challenges with Local Partnerships
“This workshop focused on engaging with local groups so we can share resources such as accessing better services for our companions and helping community groups that need us. We want to start establishing two-way street partnerships where we help each other with our projects, benefitting both parties.”
Building Strong Community Partnerships
“This workshop was about utilizing Emmaus UK’s existing corporate partnerships locally within our community, as well as utilizing existing funding streams. I also discussed moving away from traditional fundraising routes (i.e. trusts and grants) and looking for alternative fundraising routes such as community engagement, community partnerships etc. Getting grants and funds has been difficult recently and the response time has been slower, but we still need money for projects.”
We asked Ross what his favourite part of the Emmaus Assembly was:
“It was good to meet up with colleagues from across the federation that I only ever see in Teams calls. It was nice to spend time in a setting that was more relaxed such as over dinner or playing games in the evening. Being able to represent our Community at Federation events is important to having our voices heard”
It was the second Emmaus Assembly for Neil, our Community Support Worker. Talking about his experience he said:
“I like attending the national assembly because it is a great chance to meet the other companions and staff from different communities, getting to talk to the companions and listen to their journeys, and share and learn in good working practices with other colleagues over the Emmaus communities. The assembly was focused on partnership working this year and I attended some useful workshops with gave me some ideas to how best to help the companions move on, hearing first-hand from them about what they would like, and looking at partnership working with other agencies so we can all work together to achieve to best outcome.”
Also present was companion Andy B who said:
“The 2024 assembly was a very interesting event; I went to three workshop sessions which were attended by lots of different people involved with Emmaus. They included workshops covering ‘What it means to move’. I attended the companion peer group committee and a barista workshop. Overall, it was an excellent weekend and a great chance to catch up with old friends and colleagues. Here’s to 2025!”