Emmaus
Maybe have you already been in an Emmaus shop? Those are jumbles where books, clothes, trinkets, furniture given by people are sold.
Emmaus is not only jumbles.
Emmaus is a whole world..
Set up in 1949 by Abbé Pierre, Emmaüs struggles against poverty and exclusion. Emmaüs helps people to rebuild themselves and does so thanks to:
- Unconditional welcome
Our communities welcome and accommodate everyone irrespective of their backgrounds: migrants, undocumented people, psychologically fragile people, people who have been in prison, etc. Psychologists, social workers and legal advisors are there to provide support to the people in our structures. - Self-sustainable action
To help the families in our structures to find a place in society, Emmaüs enables them to work. Thus, “helped people” become “helpers people”. The key activities are recycling, sorting and selling (of shoes, clothes, books, furniture, etc. that were donated). Proceeds from the sales are used to finance our housing structure, to pay for the wages of the support staff and to fund solidarity projects. - Solidarity
Generally speaking, Emmaus is a secular organization which fights poverty with its housing projects, back-to-work projects, its struggle against excessive debt and its welcome and support. Our organization leads other solidarity initiatives such as food distribution, shipping containers to Africa, providing financial support to other NGOs, etc. - Sustainable development
Emmaus works to protect our environment and to prioritize the social economy. Instead of being thrown away, the given items are :- recycled
- sold
- reused
Emmaus France it is also :
- 117 communities which host 7000 companions
- 89 structures for integration through employment working with 3550 s reintegrated employees
- 18 organizationsacting for the access to housing right and which contribute to accommodate 22 776 people and to host 60 000 people.
Emmaus also carries out an international action with Emmaus International ! Abroad, Emmaus groups are confronted to different issues, linked to the country where they are. Access to water, health, international migrations, ethic finance and education are their main area of action.
More information on: emmaus-international.org
Emmaus Europe also gives the opportunity to take part into a solidarity work camps during the summer to discover European Emmaus groups.