Companion Stories: Richard

"My wife Sara and I lived in Bristol and worked for the same company, earning good money. We owned our own home and lived quite well on our joint wages. We had a mortgage with Northern Rock.

In 2008, the company we worked for went into liquidation overnight. We were suddenly jobless. Shortly afterwards, Northern Rock repossessed our house. We were homeless.

We moved around, staying with family members, but we started to become an inconvenience. According to the council, we were not a priority. Other organisations did not accept couples. We refused to be separated after all we had been through, and ended up living in a very small van for over two months. It became intolerable. Our self-respect diminished rapidly.

Things changed for the better when the JobCentre told us about Emmaus Bristol. We called in and were accepted into the Community. It took just 6 months for us to regain our dignity and build up our self-esteem. When we were told of a new Emmaus Community in Preston that needed experienced Companions to help with their re-launch, we decided that we had more to offer others such as ourselves. So we accepted the challenge and moved to Emmaus Preston to help build a new Community.

Since being at Emmaus Preston I’ve been promoted a number of times, and I’m now Senior Community Assistant. Sara has become the Housekeeper and Cook. We’ve also renewed our wedding vows - thanks to Father Timothy and Emmaus Preston for making Sara’s dream come true.

Now, we’re both now looking forward to gaining more experience within Emmaus. Ultimately, we’d like to run our own Community."

"When I came here it was as if I had been looking for a place like this all my life. It feels safe. I can relax at last. It has given me the chance to start again."