Liberal Democrat MP Charlotte Cane visited Emmaus Cambridge based at Green End, Landbeach. Charlotte who was elected as MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire in the recent General Election, was joined by John Trapp, District Councillor for Bottisham.
Emmaus Cambridge Chief Executive Officer, Donna Talbot, showed Charlotte and John the charity’s unique model currently supporting 44 people who have experienced or been at risk of homelessness.
The charity provides safe and homely accommodation, personalised support, and work experience opportunities.
Each person who lives at Emmaus (known in the Emmaus movement as companions) has their own bedroom, with living expenses covered and meals provided in a communal dining room. The length of time spent at Emmaus is dependent on the companion’s individual needs, giving companions stability and an opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness.
Charlotte spoke with staff and companions, including Rob, about his experiences at Emmaus, how he overcame homelessness and the support he receives. Charlotte and John also viewed two companions’ rooms to see the accommodation available within the community.
Commenting on her visit, Charlotte said: “Thank you very much for showing me around Emmaus and thank you to the companions for speaking to me about what it’s like to live and work here. Thanks also to those who allowed us to go in and see their homes.
“It’s really excellent work that you’re doing here, and I hope you are able to continue. I will support your campaign to try and get more supported housing, so that when people are ready to move on into their own home, there is somewhere for them to move to.”
Chief Executive Officer, Donna Talbot said: “We were delighted to welcome Charlotte and John to our community and thank them for taking a genuine interest in our special model. It is wonderful to share our work in transforming homelessness into hopefulness through providing a welcoming home, tailored support, and opportunities to gain new skills.
“We were heartened that Charlotte has pledged to support our Action on Homelessness Manifesto UK campaign for more supported housing, a huge step in the right direction.
“The manifesto provides the new government with a crucial opportunity to end the cruelty and injustice of homelessness for good. As well as the vital work done by different charities and organisations across the country, we would like to see urgent political action taken on homelessness.”
The six key steps Emmaus UK would like the new government to take are:
1) Act on supported housing: take forward and properly consult on the Supported Housing Act, which will introduce national standards across the country.
2) Create more affordable homes: build 90,000 social rent homes per year, keep Local Housing Allowance unfrozen to improve the affordability of the private rented sector, and finally abolish Section 21 evictions.
3) Take a cross-government approach: launch a cross-department task force on ending homelessness led by the Cabinet Office, which brings together policy on housing, work, social care, justice and more to produce a rounded strategy, with commitments for every department.
4) Invest for the long term: review all current spending on homelessness, and replace temporary and short-term funding with a long-term, ringfenced homelessness fund.
5) On the ground consultation: put community insights at the heart of national policy solutions, so that people with lived experience of homelessness are listened to, including in the implementation of the Supported Housing Act, and through the cross-government task force Emmaus is backing.
6) No-one criminalised for being homeless: ensure the punitive measures on homelessness in the Criminal Justice Bill do not return to Parliament, and that the outdated Vagrancy Act is scrapped.
The manifesto signals a fresh approach to policy and campaigning by the charity, which is now proactively engaging with government officials to take action on homelessness and ensure ministers addresses the issue’s root causes.
In May Donna joined organisations from across the country for a reception at 10 Downing Street to recognise their work in alleviating poverty and deprivation.
Donna was invited by Rt Hon Mel Stride MP Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in a celebration of 20 years of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
Emmaus Cambridge won an award from the CSJ in 2005 in recognition of its transformational work in the homelessness sector, providing long-term solutions for people experiencing insecure housing, poverty, and homelessness.
The reception, held on Wednesday 22nd May, encountered last-minute scheduling changes due to the announcement of the general election on the same day. The development led to CSJ guests meeting a few meters away from Downing Street, where they watched the breaking news on screen.
About Emmaus Cambridge
Emmaus Cambridge supports people who have experienced homelessness by providing a home as well as work opportunities, training, and therapeutic support.
Emmaus Cambridge has a range of social enterprises include a charity shop and Joan’s Coffee Shop both located in Landbeach, where the house clearance service and eBay site operates from.
There are currently 30 Emmaus communities across the country, supporting more than 850 companions (people who have experienced homelessness) in the UK. In addition, there are three Emmaus groups, all of which are working towards setting up an Emmaus community in their area.
Social enterprise is central to the Emmaus model as it not only provides meaningful work for companions but also generates funding to maintain communities and contribute to acts of solidarity that provides support to residents in the local area.
Website: emmaus.org.uk/cambridge
Facebook: facebook.com/CambridgeEmmaus
Twitter: twitter.com/EmmausCambridge
Instagram: instagram.com/emmauscambridge
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/emmaus-cambridge/
