About Emmaus
Emmaus is a homelessness charity providing more than just a bed for the night to people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion.
We provide a home for as long as someone needs it and meaningful work in our social enterprise. Living in a stable environment with the opportunity to work helps our companions, as residents are known, to regain lost self-esteem and the confidence to get back on their feet.
How it works
There are currently 29 Emmaus communities across the UK, providing a home and meaningful work to more than 750 formerly homeless people. In addition to this, there are four emerging groups, working hard to establish new communities. Together, we are working towards a target of being able to offer 1,000 companion places by 2020.
Like any flourishing community, Emmaus is most successful when everyone makes a contribution. For us, that means working together in the social enterprise, to generate funds needed to support the community and the companions that call it home.
In return, companions are expected to work 40 hours per week or as much as they are able in the charity's social enterprise. They are required to sign off all benefits with the exception of housing benefit, which is claimed to help support the community. The ultimate goal is for each community to become self-sufficient, supporting itself with the revenue it generates through its businesses.
The Emmaus model has a huge impact on restoring confidence and self-respect. Companions take responsibility for keeping their community going and work hard to support themselves and others.
Emmaus is not about giving hand-outs; it’s about providing people with the tools to help themselves. This approach has been proven to produce long-term, sustainable results. For the many people who have been stuck in a cycle of homelessness, Emmaus provides the space and support they need to take stock of their lives and make positive changes for the future.
How you can help
There are two ways you can help the charity with Recycle Ink. We will have a number of locations where we have collection boxes for recycling empty ink cartridges. We're just getting things ready at the moment and will list the locations here once the boxes have been put in position. In the meantime you can send your empty ink cartridges for recycling by clicking below and ticking Emmaus on the submission form we will send you.
