We offer a place in our community for people who will benefit from it and make a contribution to it.

To be offered a place in our community you need to be homeless (not have a home of your own) or be insecurely housed (unable to continue living where you currently live). You also have to want to live and work as part of our community. This means making a positive contribution, working together and respecting the rules.

Check out the following video to learn more about what living in our community is all about:

You’ll be given your own room, initially in Nant Lais our Community House. All the rooms in Nant Lais are en-suite with walk in showers. The rooms are furnished, and big enough for a bed and somewhere to sit and chill. The rest of the house is shared by everybody. There is a large living room with a games area, and computer points. There is a large dining room where the community eats together most days. The kitchen is always open and you can help yourself as you want. There’s a laundry room, and even a tool shed!

To apply for a room, download our application form as a Word document or PDF and email the completed form to [email protected]

If you have any problems completing an appplication, please call our Support Team on 01656 750829 or email [email protected]

Learn more about the application process and what to expect when you join us:

Check out the video tour of our Nant Lais Community House:

Our community is about working together to meet our own and each other’s needs.

In Emmaus, we believe that we should share resources fairly so that everyone has enough, and nobody should have to face the indignity of relying on handouts from others. When you join us, you are required to end your claim for any out-of-work benefits such as Universal Credit. Emmaus South Wales will meet all of your day-to-day expenses, such as food, and utility bills, and we’ll give you a small weekly cash allowance. Your room in Nant Lais is eligible for Housing Benefit which is how we afford the cost of providing your room and facilities, and we’ll help you to make that claim.

You’ll be given a full-time role in one of our social enterprises, which are the businesses we run to generate funds. There are lots of different roles available including working within our stores, testing electrical appliances, working on house clearances, and even driving a train! We’ll give you all the training, support, and time you need to be really great in your role.

When you are helping within the enterprise, you’ll report to a manager who is a paid member of staff, and be assist staff, other companions, and volunteers. You’ll also be allocated a Support Worker, who will meet with you regularly to reflect on your goals and achievements, both inside and outside of work and the community. We’ll give you support to achieve whatever you want to, and will support you to address whatever is stopping you.

There’s no time limit on how long Emmaus will support you for.

As long as you continue to contribute, benefit, and want to, you can stay as long as you need.

Once you’ve lived within the community for six months, you’ll be supported to move out of Nant Lais and offered a tenancy in one of our shared houses close by. You’ll share the house with between 1 and 3 other companions, and will continue in your role in the enterprise. Emmaus South Wales will continue to support you as a companion in exactly the same way, but you’ll have a long term option to make it your home even if you eventually choose to move into paid employment outside of Emmaus.

Men and women, of all ages, some local others not, from different backgrounds, with different interests and characteristics, who all became homeless at some point, all work together to find solutions.  We respect the lived experiences of everyone who joins our community and we value the contribution that everyone makes today.

We will not offer a place to anyone who poses a risk of violence or abuse to others. We want to ensure that our community is always a place of safety for everyone.