Head Office

Emmaus supports formerly homeless people by giving them a home, meaningful work in a social enterprise and an opportunity to get themselves back on their feet again. For many people who experience homelessness, one of the biggest obstacles they must overcome is a loss of self-esteem. Emmaus provides an opportunity to regain this, with a chance to make a real contribution to their community. Emmaus communities are not hostels for the homeless; they provide a home for as long as someone needs it. For many, this support and stability is like the family they don’t have, providing a safe environment in which to settle and re-build their lives. Often this is an opportunity to overcome issues such as addiction, get support with mental health issues or rebuild relationships with estranged family. Social enterprise is central to the Emmaus model as it provides meaningful work for companions but also generates funding to maintain communities. Companions living in Emmaus communities are expected to sign off all benefits, with the exception of housing benefit, which is used to help to support the community. The rest of the funding that is needed is generated through social enterprise and fundraising.

We repurpose your unwanted laptops, desktops, tablets and smartphones, passing them on to asylum seekers and refugees to help them resolve their immigration status, pursue studies and start their lives in their new country. Solidaritech professionally wipe your old hard drives, installing freeware Operating Systems like Linux and Open Office applications to make a new, quicker and more usable machine. To get in touch or to find out more about what we do visit https://solidaritech.com

The Blind and Sight Impaired Society have recently set up a befriending scheme which matches volunteers with visually impaired people in our community in order for them to spend around an hour a week together helping with a multitude of activities. Befriending offers our visually impaired members the opportunity to learn new routes, be accompanied on appointments, have help with day to day challenges such as letter writing, shopping and public transport. Our research has shown that this kind of support can be life changing for those that are otherwise isolated and often house bound due to their sight loss. This is therefore a valuable opportunity to make a real difference.