Emmaus

Mon, Aug 20th 2018 at 11:31 am - 12:31 pm

President Suzanne has chosen Emmaus as the club's main charity for 2018/19. Find out about Emmaus.

Debbie Golden and Lawrence from Emmaus with President Suzanne Taylor-Warren and President Elect Janet Dagys.  The Club donated toiletries to Emmaus.

Emmaus: Suzanne’s Chosen Charity

President of the Rotary Club of South Foreland, Suzanne Taylor-Warren, has chosen Emmaus as the club’s main charity for 2018/19.  At a recent meeting members and guests were given a resume of the charity’s history and operation by staff member Debbie Golden.  This was followed by a moving account of his own life history from Lawrence, one of the ‘Companions’ at Emmaus, Dover.

In 1949 Abbe Pierre, an MP, Catholic priest and former member of the French Resistance fought to provide homes for people living on the streets of post-war Paris.  Angered by the deaths of innocent people he made an impassioned plea for help in a now famous broadcast on Radio Luxembourg to Parisians.  As a result, gifts and support came flooding in and Emmaus communities opened across France.

The first of many Emmaus communities in the UK opened in 1991 at Cambridge, after a visit from Abbe Pierre.  The Dover Community originated in 1994 when Frances Watts saw the old Archcliffe Fort, an English Heritage site, as a possible location because of the space available. After renovation it opened the following year, providing overnight or longer stay accommodation for the homeless.

Abbe Pierre was a Socialist with strong views so Emmaus communities operate as social enterprises, generating their own income through business activities as well as donations and gift aid.  The Dover Community has its main warehouse and shop at Archcliffe, with subsidiaries in Ashford and Canterbury.  Deliveries are made as well as collections, usually of furniture.  Small scale house clearances, garden services, upholstery and recycling are enterprises which generate income and provide employment for ‘Companions’ who work a 40 hour week or for as long as they are able.  As long as they accept guidelines and policies they can stay until they feel that they are ready to move on.  Training in personal and workplace skills helps prepare for this and £6 from their weekly allowance of £41 is saved in their leaving fund.  While Emmaus provides a complete support network, outside agencies are contacted by the staff when needed.

The principles of contributing to the community, working together and helping one another led to the term ‘Companion’ rather than resident.  Lawrence, a Companion for nearly two years, gave an articulate and heart-rending account of his life to date.  In childhood his alcoholic father was cruel to his mother; when Lawrence left home the abuse increased, his mother became severely depressed and came to live with him.  One day at work he received news from a sister that his beloved mother had died in his flat.  He found this difficult to cope with and resorting to alcohol eventually resulted in him losing his job and becoming homeless on the streets of London.  At a day centre in Waterloo he heard of Emmaus and went to St Albans, which he liked. From there he went on to Norwich to help at a new community.  He then came to the Dover community for a holiday.  Finding live-in work at a pub in Dover he went through a difficult time with alcohol addiction but after some years he was determined to change his life so went back to Emmaus at Archcliffe.  He now works in the warehouse, is qualified in electrical testing and is a ‘Companions’ Assistant’, supporting them and liaising with staff.  Earlier this year he completed a course on mental health and now uses his experience to help others.

As Lawrence said, ‘Once you arrive you are all equal at Emmaus’.  The community aims to restore confidence and self respect, and encourages the homeless to take on responsibility for themselves and others by providing the tools to help them achieve this.  Lawrence exemplifies the success of this aim.

The Rotary Club of South Foreland will be working with Emmaus, visiting the community and raising money in 2018/19.

To find out more see: www.emmaus.org.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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