Our History

One night in 1989 Selwyn Image was volunteering at a soup kitchen in Cambridge.

One homeless man shot down every idea that Selwyn had to help him get his life back on track. Increasingly frustrated, he asked: “Well, what do you want?” The man responded: “I would have thought that would have been obvious to an intelligent man like you. I want somewhere where I can work, where I feel I belong, and where I can recover my self-respect.”

And so, the first of the 30 UK Emmaus communities was started in Cambridge. The very first ever community was started in Paris in 1949 by former French Resistance fighter, priest and politician Abbe Pierre. We in Hampshire are proud to be part of the wider Emmaus International community of 350 communities helping over 11,000 people live better through meaningful work and a stable home. We aren’t connected to any religion, but call ourselves Emmaus because we share the hope expressed in the Bible story set on the road to the town of Emmaus. Walking to Emmaus two despairing men, shocked by the Crucifixion, are told by a stranger to trust in a better future.

In Hampshire, we opened our doors in 2009 with 23 rooms in Winchester for homeless people, known as companions, who work and live in our community.