Unique Magazine July 2014
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Hilary and Rob of Emmaus Cheltenham<br />
a unique approach to homelessness<br />
Tucked down Henrietta Street,<br />
behind the Brewery the Emmaus<br />
Charity Shop might look like any<br />
other, selling furniture, bric a brac<br />
and clothing. But did you know that<br />
this shop is part of an international<br />
movement that has a UNIQUE<br />
approach to homelessness?<br />
Emmaus Gloucestershire is one of 26<br />
communities in the UK providing homeless<br />
people with a place to live and work.<br />
The shop in Cheltenham is one of four in<br />
Gloucestershire that supports 23 formerly<br />
homeless people, called companions. It is<br />
UNIQUELY staffed - in return for board and<br />
lodging companions give up the right to state<br />
benefits and work 40 hours in the shops and<br />
furniture warehouse.<br />
We have a UNIQUE way of using the surplus<br />
that we generate – we give it to others<br />
who need it more than we do. This can be<br />
local charities, individual families in need,<br />
and international aid projects. Currently we<br />
are supporting homelessness services in<br />
Gloucestershire and several projects in India.<br />
It’s not about the money we generate and<br />
the excellent shops we provide in four<br />
communities, it is about changing lives.<br />
We have believe that in helping others we<br />
help ourselves, and that meaningful work<br />
restores dignity and inclusion in society.<br />
The perception of people who are homeless<br />
is that they are a drain on society, but the<br />
residents of Emmaus Communities turn this<br />
perception on its head. Not only do they work<br />
to support themselves, but they also work to<br />
help others.<br />
It is a UNIQUE and successful business<br />
run much like a co-operative. All goods<br />
are donated and are sold on at low prices<br />
with a high turnover of stock. We don’t<br />
sell new goods or pay for our stock. The<br />
people of Gloucestershire generously give<br />
their unwanted goods and larger items are<br />
collected free of charge. Emmaus rarely<br />
says no to goods offered and we dispose of<br />
the things we can’t sell in way that doesn’t<br />
damage the environment – last year we<br />
saved 415 tonnes from landfill.<br />
It is a UNIQUE business and successful<br />
business model. In 2011 UK research<br />
(Just Economics) forecast a Social Return<br />
on investment (SROI) of £11 for every £1<br />
invested. The savings to taxpayers for every<br />
companion living and working at Emmaus<br />
Gloucestershire is calculated to be £47,442.<br />
The first Emmaus Companion, living with<br />
the founder Abbé Pierre in 1948 in France<br />
helped to build temporary homes for those<br />
in need, first in the priest’s own garden,<br />
then wherever land could be bought or<br />
scrounged. He later said; “Whatever else<br />
he might have given me - money, home,<br />
somewhere to work - I’d have still tried to kill<br />
myself again. What I was missing, and what<br />
he offered, was something to live for.”<br />
It’s UNIQUE – but it works! It works because<br />
companions work 40 hours a week to make<br />
us independent and surplus generating. It<br />
works because the people of Cheltenham<br />
and Gloucestershire provide us with the<br />
goods to sell and come and buy from us.<br />
Most importantly it works because we work<br />
for others and make a difference to lives<br />
home and abroad.<br />
visit us at 19 Henrietta St Cheltenham GL50 4AA Tel: 01242 269734<br />
page 18<br />
uniquecheltenham.co.uk/emmaus