Staff Stories: Dave Perry - Community Manager, Emmaus Bristol
"I spent 24 years in the Avon Ambulance Service NHS Trust, retiring as a Paramedic Station Officer due to knee injuries at work. I then spent just over a year working as a Project Worker in one of the three main hostels for homeless people in Bristol. It is from this background that I bring my experiences to Emmaus Bristol.
I am 50 years old, my wife is an ordained Anglican Minister, my 25 year old son and his fiancé have a 3 year old son, and my 19 year old daughter is on a gap year before starting university. I started work as Community Manager of Emmaus Bristol in June 2003 and opened the Community in October 03, after training, and setting up the house and Community. I am now an Emmaus UK Trustee and Emmaus International UK National Delegate.
My time is spent being with Companions in the good times and not so good. I assess and interview potential companions, make decisions on the direction the Community should take, and guide Companions, staff and volunteers in what is a constantly changing, developing and improving community. We are a family and I am 'father', 'brother', carer, support worker, but most of all friend and shoulder to cry on.
It is a job that takes total commitment. It is time consuming and hard work. It is also a job with more job satisfaction than I thought possible. I have to be firm, fair, consistent, able to thrive on constant change, and cope with disappointments when things don't work as I would wish."
