Earlier this month, we took a big step forward as a charity by appointing our first staff member (me) and acquiring a van. My name is Mark Booth and I am the new Local Champion for Emmaus South Manchester.
The creation of the Emmaus South Manchester charity didn’t happen overnight. Prior to me starting, a group of volunteers have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to put plans in place and build up partnerships in the local area. Part of their work involved applying to Emmaus UK for start-up funds for a Local Champion and a social enterprise. This social enterprise will help to generate the funds needed to kick-start the Emmaus South Manchester community.
For many years, my wife Caroline and I have been regular supporters of Emmaus, visiting many of their charity shops in the UK and in France. I collect vintage ‘treasures’ (junk to some people) and in the course of trawling through junk shops and brocante fairs in France, I heard about a remarkable man called Abbé Pierre. If you’re familiar with the origins of Emmaus then you’ll know who he is. If you’re new to Emmaus, Abbé Pierre founded the first Emmaus in Paris and went on to grow the movement, not just in France, but around the world. In the process, he and many others have helped to change the lives of thousands of people in need.
Getting started in my new role
I applied for the role of Local Champion back in August and following the interview process, was delighted to find out that I’d been successful. I was born in Peel Hall and have lived much of my life in this area and so have a good understanding of the South Manchester communities. My Local Champion role officially began at the start of October but prior to that, I volunteered for the charity to better understand the role and how a successful Emmaus social enterprise operates. I spent time at the workshop of Emmaus Bolton, seeing first-hand how furniture items can be restored and how new items can be produced from reclaimed materials.
Prior to joining Emmaus, my job for the last 10 years has involved travelling between the UK and the Middle East, working with international school management teams. I have a good grasp of organisational development and now I’m keen to use my skills and experience to help build a successful team and partnerships here at Emmaus South Manchester.
The challenge ahead
In Greater Manchester there are existing Emmaus communities in Bolton, Mossley and Salford. Our plan is to establish a new Emmaus in South Manchester, but why here? Before the first lockdown, government statistics released this year show a homeless total for Manchester, Trafford and Stockport of just under 2,000. At Manchester Airport alone there were estimated to be over 40 people sleeping rough throughout the winter months. With redundancies and evictions set to rise due to the pandemic and other factors, homelessness is only likely to increase. It also seems likely that we could see large numbers of people affected by homelessness who have not experienced it before. Local authority budgets are already stretched to breaking point so there is a real potential that people faced with homelessness may find it harder than ever to get the support they need.
Our desire at Emmaus South Manchester is to create a community hub that will support homeless people and those suffering deprivation and social exclusion in the local area. We know there are already some fantastic projects supporting people in South Manchester. Our plan is to create a thriving Emmaus community that supports and compliments these existing services, ensuring that even more people can access help in their time of need.
Want to lend a hand?
The immediate focus for our charity is to get our social enterprise off the ground. Thanks to a generous solidarity donation from Emmaus Bolton we now have a van to carry out collections and deliveries. We’ll hopefully soon be able to share with you news of our new base of operations. Our next step is to recruit a team of skilled and dedicated volunteers to help drive our charity forward. We’re looking for Textiles Volunteers and Upcycling Volunteers to help create desirable products from reclaimed materials. These items will then be sold in order to start generating the income we need for our new community.
If you would like to join me in following in the footsteps of Abbé Pierre then please learn more about our charity, check out the volunteer roles and sign-up to our e-newsletter below to stay updated.