When you are here, you don’t feel alone, and you feel like you are in your own home.
I have been at Emmaus Suffolk for just over one year, I used to live here at The Royal Oak but now I’ve moved to the shared house with a few other companions. Life before Emmaus was a horrible time. I was homeless and I felt broken. I know that every time you have bad times, good times will come but sometimes there is a struggle and it’s hard.
I heard about Emmaus through the job centre, my advisor put an application in for me and two weeks later I had a room and a home here.
When I first came to the UK, I was in Ipswich but then I was given accommodation in Birmingham, which I didn’t like. The city was very busy and very big which I didn’t like as much. I decided to come back to Ipswich because I had a lot of friends here. I reached out to one friend, and he said it would be hard to find housing here, but he would help me as much as I could.
I was sleeping rough on the streets for about 10 days, I would stay with friends when I could but never for long. It was crazy sleeping outside during the winter. It was very bad. I struggled to get food. Sometimes I don’t even want to remember what it was like back then.
When I first arrived at Emmaus, my English was very bad, and I didn’t know how to have a conversation with people but now I get to chat with more people. Talking with staff and other companions helps me to feel more confident. When you are here, you don’t feel alone, and you feel like you are in your own home. That is amazing, and hard to find in accommodation. People here check in on you and ask you how everything is going, it’s very friendly.
While I’m living with Emmaus I also volunteer in The Royal Oak, I have worked a bit in the kitchen, and on the till, and making coffees. I struggled with making barista coffees to start with but now I get it, it’s easy now.
I would like to stay here for a bit, I am working on my application for social housing so I can find my own place in the future. I would love to start my own business as a barber, but right now I am still learning how to manage myself and look after myself properly.
I am learning barbering at the moment. When I first came here, I was struggling to cut hair for white people but now I have learnt, and I get it! African hair is very easy to me because I am used to cutting my brother’s hair, but it took a bit of getting used to. I spoke to a colleague at the barbers, and they said I can begin formal training once I have completed my Level 1course in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). My first language is Fur and Arabic – Fur is spoken in Sudan. In the future I will try and open my own business. It’s going to take time to open my business, but I believe that anything you want you can have, you just have to plan and work hard.
If you become homeless and you don’t have any accommodation, I really recommend Emmaus. I came from another country; I wasn’t speaking the same language, but Emmaus helped me. If you join Emmaus, you can get what you want from the future.
Salah is one of many people we support at Emmaus Suffolk — offering not just a place to live, but a fresh start and a brighter future. With your monthly support, we can give more people in Suffolk the chance to rebuild their lives. Support us today.