I’ve been at Emmaus for two and a half years – one year as a companion and then I transferred to move-on accommodation and now live in my own bungalow a couple of miles away in Turvey.
I work as a warehouse assistant with U1R (Under One Roof) – the main donation area at Emmaus Village Carlton. Before working for U1R I’d worked in various areas including the furniture area of the Homestore.
Issy, the wellbeing and development worker, helped me with my CV and the application process when the job with U1R came up, so that was a huge help. All the staff have been amazing and really supportive. The progression I’ve made feels like I’ve done so much more than I thought I was capable of.
I’ve been working for U1R for about two years now and I find it really interesting – the stuff you see, from clothes to bric-a-brac, is incredible. We’re really lucky – we live in an affluent area so the stuff that comes in is unique. I’ve never seen so much donated stuff with labels still on it. It’s also good working with eBay and finding the team interesting items to sell online.
“Much better than I imagined”
Issy also helped me with my move-on process – we applied locally and they found me a one-bedroom bungalow. I’ve been in there about five months now and it’s gorgeous – honestly, in all my dreams I couldn’t have wished for somewhere nicer. Whatever I was thinking of during the move-on process – a flat or a bedsit – this was much better than I imagined. It’s incredible. I’ve got my own kitchen, my own bathroom and my own front room. I’m not in the front room that much as everything is in the bedroom! Hopefully as I make it more my own and give it a more homely feel, with pictures on the walls and things like that, I’ll spend more time in there. The garden is beautiful, there’s roses in the back which go right in front of my window, so as soon as I opened the door, there they were, it was like wow!
The neighbours are lovely – they had a bit of a garden party in the summer just after I moved in and it was nice to meet my new neighbours. It’s a lovely community – I just felt like I needed to show my face. Everybody is friendly and says hello. I love working at Emmaus, I really do, but the nice thing is that at the end of the day I can walk away from site and sit back and think “that’s the day done” and chill out for a little while in my own little space. I walk to and from Emmaus, but it’s literally half an hour across a couple of fields, so I get my steps in every day. The wildlife I see running around – I saw a couple of muntjac deer the other day right near me and I’ve even adopted a hedgehog who visits me, it’s so beautiful around here. I love walking as well, just having the opportunity of finding a track and following it, that’s something I really enjoy.
“It’s all down to Emmaus”
If you come here after homelessness and need support and want to develop yourself, then Emmaus is brilliant. In my first year here as a companion I think I did about four or five courses, from PAT testing to forklift truck driving and a CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) card. The CSCS card wasn’t something I thought I was going to pass because I’d worked on building sites before but didn’t think I’d had enough experience. I was really pleased and surprised to pass it. It’s incredible here because they will encourage you to do these courses which are great to have under your belt.
“It was time to move forward”
The reason I became homeless was because I lost my dad, my relationship failed and I turned to drugs. When I came to Emmaus, I decided that I wasn’t doing drugs anymore, it was time to move forward and get myself sorted out, and I did. Emmaus have been brilliant to me. I lived in a sleeping bag under a bridge in Milton Keynes so to come from that and be in the position I’m in now is incredible, and it’s all down to Emmaus and the people who have encouraged me in the right direction. I was told about Emmaus by a support worker in a homelessness shelter and we came here to have a look and I loved it. I love the countryside – I don’t think I could go back to living in the city again. My walk to work is lovely, even in the winter – it’s not like I’m not used to walking in the rain or being cold! It’s also sociable, I say hello to joggers or dog walkers as I pass them, and they always say good morning.