My life within Emmaus Cambridge
Part 1 of many by Ian
Hi, my name is Ian or as my fellow companions know me as "TIGGER" but we'll get to that later.
The first time I heard about Emmaus would have been when I was about 16 years old, a very good friend of mine who I've known since childhood has stayed in Communities before so he told me all about it but I didn't believe it. Anyway at that time I was going through a very bad time, I was heavily dependent on drugs and drink and I was struggling to keep my flat going. Anyway it all became too much for me to handle so I gave up my flat and with that close friend of mine I decided to leave Scotland and move to Cambridge and give Emmaus a try.
So having packed just a suitcase I left for pastures new not looking back. We arrived in London the next morning with no place to stay, no jobs but with the intention of making our way to Cambridge, but we didn't mind compared to what we had just left behind, this was to be our new start.
Having spent four exhausting days walking around London spending the last of what little money we had left we decided to make the move to Cambridge as if we didn't do it now we probably never would. So we approached an organisation called Borderline which is based in Central London to help Scottish people who are homeless in the Capital and told them our plans, well to our surprise they were more than happy to help us achieve our goal.
That very afternoon we were on a coach on our way to Cambridge. We knew when we arrived we would have to wait for vacancies to come up so when we arrived we made our way to Jimmy's Nightshelter who were again so kind and gave us beds.
The next morning well rested and fed, the staff at Jimmy's got in touch with Emmaus and told them we wanted to join the Community. After about two weeks we were then invited to the Community for a visit, I had heard what my friend had said about the place but I couldn't believe my eyes! It was so nice and everybody I met was so inviting. So I had a tour of the Community and I guess my mind was made up, it was the place for me and I had my name put on the waiting list.
It took about 3-4 months after that to get in so we stayed in Jimmy's until then, but I'll never forget my first day there, I was so worried in case I didn't fit in but when I arrived I was made to feel so relaxed and at home. It didn't take to long to settle in and I soon acquired the nickname "TIGGER" which has stuck with me until this day, it was given to me for my loud and bouncy character. Granted having that nickname has got me into hot water and to my sadness I have left the community under a few clouds quite a few times.
But here I am now twenty-four and a half years old, seven years on from when I first arrived with a clean slate and another chance to try again. I'm just so thankful that every time I've needed to come back the option has always been there greeted with open arms and a smile every time!!!
So I guess the future is in my hands now? I would just like to thank the community for opening their hearts and home to me time and time again but a special thanks to Jane, Paul and John for believing in me and standing by me for 7 years.
So thank you for showing me the Emmaus way of life, it truly is wonderful and it's helped me so much when I've needed it.
So I finish saying thanks for giving me this opportunity to write a little, it isn't much but it's from the heart and that's what matters, so thank you.
Ian "Past and now ongoing Companion of Emmaus Cambridge"
"As it says on the Emmaus leaflet, I now have a bed and a very good purpose to get out of it". So thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart to you all x x