Referrals
Emmaus has 19 communities across the UK in which previously homeless and unemployed people live and work. Each resident is required to sign off unemployment benefit and volunteer full-time in the business of the Community, which is collecting and re-selling donated household items in the Community shop. Not only do Emmaus Communities pay their own way. but any surplus income generated by the efforts of the residents is used to support homeless and marginalised people.
The Community does claim basic Housing Benefit which is paid directly into the Community's account but not being entitled to this will not rule you out of having a place. In return for 40 hours volunteering, the Community provides Companions with an en-suite room, all food and board together with a 'pocket money' payment of £40. A saving of £10 per week is put away so that no-one leaves the Community empty-handed.
Emmaus Cambridge endavours to provide the opportunity for homeless and other socially disadvantaged people to regain control of their lives by living and working alongside others in a supportive, communal environment. Its success depends on creating and maintaining a stable Community and therefore before anyone is accepted, detailed assessments of need and risk are undertaken. Emmaus Cambridge will take applicants who present with complex problems provided the Community as a whole is able to support them.
The overriding principles in deciding admission are:-
- Whether the Community can provide a safe environment for the applicant, the Community and others.
- Whether the Community can meet the needs and offer appropriate support to an applicant.
Applicants must be willing to work as a volunteer full-time and to the best of their ability and must be prepared to comply with the rules of the Community, which include:-
- Companions must treat each other with respect at all times and be prepared to offer friendship and support to others.
- No alcohol or drugs are allowed on the premises.
- No violent or aggressive behaviour is tolerated.
- Extremely disruptive behaviour will be dealt with by exclusion for a period.
- Companions cannot claim benefits or work outside the Community or draw any money other than their Community allowance.
We recommend that people read The Companions' Companion (Adobe/PDF, 4.9MB) before they apply as this tells them a bit more about life in the Community and whether it would suit them or not. It also gives an idea of the sorts of rules we live by.
There are two types of referral form for potential Companions:-
- Self referral form (MS/Word, 141KB) for those wishing to refer themselves.
- Agency Referral form (MS/Word, 146KB) for agencies (Probation Officer, Support Worker for example) with the potential Companion's permission.
Please complete all sections of the form.
The referral forms are used purely for us to get an indication of your suitability for Emmaus and its suitability for you. Please be assured that we are looking for reasons to include you rather than exclude you. If you would like to discuss an application please talk to Emily Grainge (01223 863657 option 4) about life at Emmaus Cambridge. Emily can arrange for you to receive an information pack, or you can download the documents here.
Once completed the forms can be returned to the community either by mail, fax to 01223 862676 or via email to Emily on
We will acknowledge receipt of the form and then discuss it at our Team meeting, at which we will decide whether to place you on our waiting list or not. Either way, we will let you know of our decision. We often have a long waiting list which means that you may end up waiting a couple of months. Once a bed becomes available, we will invite you in for an interview, and as a result of the interview we may be able to offer you a bed.
It is important to advise us of any support needs you may have such as alcohol or drug dependency or mental health needs. As an organization we work closely with the local drug and alcohol service (Addaction) so the offer of a place may be conditional upon securing their support. The information we ask for is to enable us to assess and put in place any extra support you may need. We do allocate 7 beds for those who need extra support with drug/alcohol issues; this involves liaison with Addaction regarding scripts and relapse prevention. Try to answer all of the questions, but if there are any you do not understand, you can call us on 01223 863657 (option 4) and we can go through the form together.
We try to give as many people as possible the opportunity to try Emmaus and it is rare for us to decline a place.
Emmaus Cambridge does not claim funding which is dependent upon a particular outcome or which places requirements such as a move-on policy on it. Consequently, Emmaus Cambridge offers a place for as long as you are happy to comply with the basic ground rules of the community. For some people this may be a matter of weeks or months, but for others this may be for longer or even forever. Moreover we accept that sometimes people make mistakes. It may be necessary to ask someone to leave if they are not ready for Emmaus. However, this will not be held against them and the door will be open for them to try again when they are ready to do so.
Referrals for serving prisoners are handled slightly differently. Please contact Emily in the first instance in plenty of time (at least two months if at all possible) before your release date and we do not accept self referrals in this instance.