Roger first started volunteering with Emmaus Bristol in March 2025. Roger now dedicates one day a week to our community, helping to process art donations that are kindly gifted from local artists or that come through our house clearance service.
Roger has carefully collated these pieces ahead of our first art auction fundraiser, held this December on eBay! We sat down with Roger to hear all about his volunteering at Emmaus Bristol, from his impressive art background to the work Emmaus Bristol is doing to support migrants and the wider Bristol community.
Can you tell us more about why you volunteer at Emmaus?
There was an opportunity that I saw online to volunteer here and help with the warehouse and sorting the pictures that come in from house clearances, so it sounded interesting to me!
How do you feel about homelessness?
Well, I think like many people, I feel pretty bad about that. I can’t understand why we have a society that can’t offer more to people who are clearly in some level of need. Sleeping on the streets or having other disadvantages is something we all ought to address as a community.
Many of our needs are addressed at a much higher level, you know we have an NHS, we have a council that supports a lot of our needs, so why can’t we help those people who really are in some form of difficulty by sleeping on the streets.
How have you seen people change when they come through Emmaus Bristol?
In terms of some of the companions, who may well be migrants. I think they have gained confidence and that they feel part of a group or family almost. From my own point of view as a volunteer, it helps me as much as it helps them, because it offers me a chance to contribute and to offer something to people who I normally wouldn’t come across.
What do you think about our work with migrants and why do you think it’s important?
Well, I think it is important to support anybody who is maybe changing their location or changing the way that they approach life. So, supporting migrants, refugees, asylum seekers is a key thing that any country should do.
I’m a migrant myself, I know I don’t sound it, but I was brought up in America and came over here when I was 14. So, migrants come in all shapes and sizes and it’s great that there are people and institutions that are developing to support them and to enrich our lives.
Describe the work element that Emmaus Bristol offers to companions?
I think there’s great variety. I work alongside companions who are repairing things, who are preparing things, who are fixing things. I also help with those who are trying to sort out pictures and frames, and others are selling pieces of furniture.
There’s quite a range to it and I think it’s really trying to make a resource out of things that people might otherwise not think would make a useful contribution. So, things donated and sold here are very usefully going towards supporting people who are homeless.
What impact do you think Emmaus Bristol has on the wider community of Bristol?
I think it has a very positive one. I think it’s very helpful to support those companions who are here in terms of their homelessness and their immediate needs. I think it gives an opportunity for others to help as well.
You can help by donating, you can help by coming and buying lots of different things from the shop here and you can help as a volunteer. So, it’s a mutual arrangement with the people of Bristol and those people who are perhaps in greater need than many who live here.
What do you find unique or special about Emmaus?
I think there’s a good sense that everybody works together and that volunteers, the staff and companions all work as a team really. You don’t really distinguish between people, you just try to get the group of people together that are helpful for whatever the task is, and that’s a really nice working atmosphere.
What do you think connects art and homelessness?
Art is important as a process and as a product. So actually, doing something artistic is a really valuable thing to do and the final product can give a lot of people joy, interest or surprise. It’s a creative process and that is extremely helpful to people in any situation.
Can you tell us more about your art background?
I trained as an art student and then as a post graduate student at the Royal Academy Schools, so I trained in painting and drawing in a very traditional way. Then I went, and taught in lots of different art colleges, and ended up eventually managing colleges and a big chunk of The University of West of England here in Bristol for art and design and other activities.
So, I guess I went from a practitioner to a manager, but I still keep the flame alive – I paint and draw myself and still enjoy teaching painting and drawing.
What do you think of the art auction being used as a fundraiser?
I think it’s a good idea. There’s a lot of variety in the pictures that are donated here and that come through house clearances. It allows people to find something they are interested in and contribute to the work of Emmaus, so it’s a really good combination.
Do you have any favourite pieces in the auction, and can you give a description of the types of art?
I can’t really name a favourite. Because there are so many and they are all very interesting. There’s a great range of techniques and approaches. I’ve seen lino cuts, I’ve seen wood cuts, oil paintings, drawings. There’s a lot of variety and I think people should be welcome to come and have a look round themselves and see what takes their fancy.
Finally, can you let us know where proceeds from the art auction will go?
All proceeds from the auction are going towards supporting the homeless here in Bristol and elsewhere. Every £1 spent will go towards a good cause.
What I would like to say is thank you very much to all the artists who have donated work. And I would like to reassure them that it’s going to a good cause and will give a lot of pleasure to people who purchase from the auction.
Our art auction is NOW LIVE and you can place bids through our eBay shop (emmausbristol) until Sunday 7 December. Good luck! Thank you for supporting our work.
