Nicola has worked at Emmaus Bristol for 16 years, first as Community Admin Assistant, then as a Support Worker before moving into her current role as Office Manager.
What has made you stay at Emmaus Bristol for 16 years?
I’ve always enjoyed working here. Emmaus is all about the Companions and I’ve tried to do what I can to help them. There have been some tough times and points when I’ve not wanted to stay, but the successes – when someone gets over a massive hurdle, achieves something, or moves on – they’re all the great things that make you want to do it for the next person who comes in. There are some low points, but there are massive positives and that’s why I’ve kept going.
Is there a memorable highlight for you?
The move to our Backfields House building and when both teams came together is a highlight for me. Before this, the social enterprise side and the community side were very separate. That was a big change in a positive way, because the support and enterprise teams worked far more closely. I think that’s when we started working in a more trauma-informed way – we didn’t call it that at the time though!
There’s also one Companion I always think about; he had been with us for many years, and everyone thought that was just going to be it but after going on a couple of different courses and getting some work experience, that Companion is now living independently and has a job. It took many years for that change to happen, but it did. That’s a highlight for me and really shows the importance of not having a time limit. When a charity is government funded, you may have time targets for move-on and that’s mad for a human being. It took years for this Companion, but it was all him – he made a positive change with a little support. Change can happen whenever.
What is your favourite thing about working at Emmaus Bristol?
The positive change Emmaus can bring to an individual, when that individual wants positive change. We are very different from any organisations out there and Companions do work to the best of their ability in the social enterprise. When somebody comes in wanting that change, we all work together to achieve it.
What is the most important thing people should know about Emmaus?
Emmaus is not a hostel, it’s for as long as someone needs it and it’s a very supportive community where positive things can happen.
What is one thing you would want people to know about homelessness?
Everybody’s story is unique, and nobody should judge anyone by just looking at their circumstances. With some help, someone can go from no security to a place where they can grow. In the hierarchy of needs, shelter and somewhere safe to be is right at the bottom. Without that, you’re not going to do any of the others. People just need a chance.
What are you looking forward to at Emmaus Bristol?
I’m looking forward to a full team, full steam ahead. The team has been smaller recently and we’ve all been stretched, so when the team is back up to full strength it will be really exciting to start working on the opportunities we’ve had on back boilers.
