On Friday 26th November, organisations involved with tackling homelessness and social isolation across Suffolk joined together for a preview of our new community café, shop and support hub, at the former Royal Oak pub on Felixstowe Road, Ipswich.
Ahead of the official opening on Wednesday 1st December, partner organisations from across Ipswich and the wider Suffolk area were invited to look behind the scenes at the Royal Oak, meet some of the team involved in the running of the centre and hear from our CEO Claire Staddon about Emmaus Suffolk’s future plans.
Guests at the preview included Deputy Mayor of Ipswich Borough Council, Cllr John Cook, Inspire Suffolk, Lofty Heights, Ipswich Housing Action Group, Do Good Networking and Terry Waite CBE, President of Emmaus UK. Terry spoke to guests about his experience as a hostage in Lebanon and the vital work of Emmaus communities here in the UK.
The event also marked the fifth anniversary of Emmaus Suffolk. We have support hubs in Ipswich and Felixstowe, which, over the last five years, have helped almost 400 people with issues such as job seeking, benefits, housing advice, substance misuse and physical and mental wellbeing.
The new community café, shop and support hub at the Royal Oak will open its doors to customers on Wednesday 1st December and will provide a safe, welcoming and positive space for people to come and enjoy freshly cooked food while accessing the Emmaus Suffolk support services if needed.
Like Emmaus Suffolk’s other social enterprises in Ipswich and Felixstowe, the community café and charity shop will also provide volunteering opportunities for people experiencing isolation, loneliness and long-term unemployment. This model has enabled many Emmaus Suffolk volunteers to move on to employment, training or education.
The opening of Emmaus Suffolk at The Royal Oak has been made possible thanks to the generosity of The Big Lottery Community Fund, Suffolk Freemasons, Rope Trust, Hopestead, Albert Hunt, Birkett Long, Food & Drink Fund and The Suffolk Community Foundation.
Claire Staddon, CEO of Emmaus Suffolk, says:
“I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the past five years here in Suffolk. We’ve supported almost 400 people through our support hubs and volunteering opportunities, and I am delighted that we can now support even more people thanks to the opening of our community café, shop and hub at the Royal Oak.
“It was great to celebrate with our supporters and funders on Friday, and we can’t wait to open the doors to our first customers on Wednesday morning.
“Thank you to everyone who has helped to make our dream of a café, shop and hub at the Royal Oak a reality, from those organisations and individuals who have donated money, to all our volunteers who have cleaned, painted and helped to bring it to life, and to our customers who support our work by visiting our shops and social enterprises.”
Doors to Emmaus Suffolk’s new centre will be opened to the Wednesday 1st December at 10 am. Emmaus Suffolk at The Royal Oak will then be open every Wednesday to Saturday, 9am – 4pm, with hot food served until 2pm every day.