Emmaus Charity in Salford helps care for the homeless

Emmaus Charity in Salford is centred around a residential community, where people who have experienced homelessness come to make it their home for as long as they need it to be.

Emmaus Salford is an independent charity that, along with other communities in the UK, makes up the Emmaus UK federation. The Charity is a part of Emmaus International, a movement that includes work being undertaken by more than 410 Emmaus groups in 41 countries across the world.

Emmaus charity provides a home for as long as someone needs it and meaningful work in their social enterprise. Living in a stable environment with the opportunity to work helps get their companions, to regain lost self-esteem and the confidence to get back on their feet.

Julie a volunteer at Emmaus Charity said: “We do retail and working in the warehouse, we all work together as part of the community.

“For our collection service we get phone calls for the logistics part we get phone calls from people of the public asking for a collection, saying what they want to donate. Normally we get, furniture, electrical’s, we get all sorts of things.

“The staff here help with the homeless, all we had to do is apply for this place and it gives us a chance to get us back into working and it gets us back onto our feet.”

The charity shop within Salford finds a variety of sofas, chairs, tables, beds, bookshelves, drawers and storage solutions. They also stock household items such as crockery, ornaments, kitchen utensils, electrical appliances and pictures as well as a range of clothes, books, vinyl, DVDs and computer games.

Emmaus Charity in Salford also has a ‘Lucie’s Pantry’, to help people that are struggling to pay for food.

Kevin O’Call a worker for Lucie’s pantry said” “We are a social supermarket, you can come and get 10 item each week for £2.50.

“We have opened it up now to more people because at first you must get referred but with the cost of living now it just helps people that are struggling and people working in full time that still needed to use us, so it’s open to anyone now.

“We also do deliveries to people that can’t come out to the shop, we have about 30 a week at the moment.”

Each week, Lucie’s Pantry supports around 250 Salford households with food and essential items. The Pantry is run by Emmaus Salford companions and volunteers.

Emmaus is open from Tuesday to Saturday 10am- 4pm and is open to everyone. If you wish to talk to the Charity for help or general queries, please contact them on 0161 737 8279 or call in at: 101 Fitzwarren St, Salford M6 5RQ.