New growth for Emmaus

The Emmaus Federation commissioned the research discussed in this report because three operational questions had arisen as a result of the changes that were occurring in the nature of homelessness: What role could Emmaus Communities play in a context in which the nature of homelessness was changing and could there be ways in which Communities could be made more accessible, attractive and beneficial to groups of homeless and potentially homeless people who currently did not tend to live in Emmaus Communities? In a context where homelessness service provision was decreasing and the numbers of homeless people were rising, what new roles might Emmaus Communities adopt to help tackle homelessness? Do any ‘barriers’ to entering Emmaus Communities exist for some groups of homeless people and, if so, what are those ‘barriers’? This research was commissioned to explore these questions. Emmaus has an ethos that defines the Movement and how Emmaus Communities work. A challenge for the research centred on exploring whether a correct balance could be found, one that allowed for possible adaptation to reflect new realities of homelessness but which did not compromise the ethos of the Movement.