I’ve been a companion at Emmaus Village Carlton for nearly nine years. I work in the Bric-a-Brac shop where I’ve been for the last five or six years, but I’ve worked in all areas of the social enterprise. Bric-a-Brac is where I want to be and now it’s my little domain!
I just love everything about Bric-a-Brac – the sheer diversity of what we sell, and I love meeting all the customers. I sort the vinyl records as well, as I’ve collected vinyl myself for years and I love old records. I’m not into classical but I love pop, reggae, soul, rock, a bit of everything really. I’ve got a bit of an insight into how much things are worth, so I can price it realistically. You could get a rare record and price it at three quid, when it’s worth more like £30, so it’s good to be able to bring my knowledge to this area.
We had a painting donation before I worked here, and an antique expert spotted it and it went to auction. I think it fetched £30,000! It was a rare painting but could have gone out on sale for £50 if our expert hadn’t spotted it, so you never know what you’re going to find when donated items come in!
Before Emmaus
I helped run a retail business with my parents; florist shops in and around Luton for 35 years, so I know retail. My dad passed away and then my mum was getting older, so I was looking after her as her carer. Then she got cancer and it got worse and worse and in the end she was on limited time. We decided she wasn’t going into a hospice and I’d look after her at home. I had no other family, no brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles, it was just me and my mum. When she passed away, I had to sell the house because there was money owed on it and everything. There was nothing that came out of it for me, so on top of my mum passing away, I had to organise the funeral on my own and the sale of the house. I was left homeless and I ended up sleeping in a car. I was 60 and I did that for couple of weeks, but I got to the point where I felt like “I can’t do this anymore, I’m going to end it”, and I was thinking about ending it all, that’s how bad it got. I was trying to find anyone who could help me. In the end I went to an organisation in Luton called NOAH, a charity offering support to people struggling with homelessness and extreme poverty. Two ladies there were lovely – they really helped me, I owe them a lot. They asked if I’d heard about Emmaus – I hadn’t. They said “let’s go over there and we’ll have a chat and see what you think”. I basically had just enough petrol left in my car to get here. If I didn’t get here, I would have messed up.
A warm reception
The Chief Executive at the time spoke to me and I told her about my situation and she said “do you want to move in today?” and I just hugged her, I was so relieved. I’ve never looked back since, I love it here. It saved my life – I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Emmaus. I had nowhere else to turn.
I settled in gradually – it’s difficult to start with because you’ve got a lot of different personalities and some have been here a while, so you work your way in, and you get to know people. After a while I was absolutely fine – I get on with everyone.
Working in Bric-a-Brac
I enjoy meeting people and I have a laugh and a joke with a lot of the customers which is lovely, so it’s all good. I’m 68 now – I’m the oldest one here! I’m a pensioner now so I only volunteer three days per week. Being in a community helps alleviate my worries about loneliness – I like to mix with people. You can have your quiet times here, but if I lived completely alone, the loneliness would get to me. There is only so much you can do on your own.
Major health issue
The reason I’m doing three days a week is that around 10 months ago I had a heart attack. I didn’t think anything of it at the time – I was sitting with the lads outside at lunchtime and I was getting pains in my chest. They said I should get it checked out so I went to the doctors who told me I was having a major heart attack and should go straight into hospital. I went into hospital and, not their fault, but I was waiting for hours and hours, so I discharged myself, which I shouldn’t have done. I came back here and had to go back to the doctors and got told off, justifiably so. I had to go back in and spent three months in hospital overall. I had a triple heart bypass operation at the Papworth Hospital. If I hadn’t gone back in, God knows how long I would have had left.
The operation itself wasn’t so bad, the worse bit was coming back out. I was getting blackouts. I collapsed in the car park, hit my head and had to go back into hospital again. I blacked out again in my room and hit my head again and knocked half my teeth out. It turned out my blood pressure was too low. I was in a right state – I couldn’t even get up a little set of stairs to my room and became a prisoner in my own room because I daren’t leave it in case I had another blackout. When it comes, it comes, and in seconds I’m alright again, but it was frightening. That was in August/September last year. They eventually sorted it through medication. Touch wood, since then I’ve had no problems, but I’ve been through the mill a bit with that one.
Looking to the future
I feel good now but obviously I just do three days to reduce the pace, but all is good. At my age you can’t make too many plans for the future, just waking up every day is a bonus! I’ve got a good mate who lives in Newcastle and once a year we go on holiday and I speak to him regularly, so that’s a nice outlet for me.
Emmaus is not for everyone – I’ve seen hundreds of people come and go here over the years, for whatever reason – it works for some and not for others, but for me it was a life saver. The support for companions is fantastic, they really look after you and help you, and the community is lovely. I’ve made some great friends and we all look out for each other.