- William enjoys working and chatting with the customers in the cafe corner in Emmaus.
William Quarrell, 31, a former construction worker with nothing left after divorce and the death of his mother, works and lives at Emmaus Preston, a charity organization supports the homeless globally, which is “actually full of former criminals”, according to William.
I have never kept the habit of breakfast since I left home for school. I sleep as much as I can and get up without any plans. Actually this is my life, “no plans, doing whatever it occurs to me.
Except for weekends when I enjoy sleeping till noon, I usually get up at 8:30 on weekdays, shave my moustache and change into some clean clothes. Looking good is not enough for me, instead I always want my clothes with brand. This is a bad habit shared also by my 10-year-old daughter Hanna, who is already keen on labels like Top Shop even Jimmy Choo. We possibly are influenced from my Italian-British ex-wife Malena, who was my classmate in secondary school and my first love. She looks after her beauty so well that she goes to the gym every morning at 7:30, which is impossible for
me. That’s the difference between us—she has a routine while I don’t.
However, we indeed were in love with each other a decade ago when we got married at 19. Life had been so beautiful when we travelled around Europe and had two babies until we began to have meaningless fights. I gave all the things we owned to her in divorce because of my Scottish family tradition, which suggests that families should always stick together and that men should take care of his loved ones. In the same year my mother and sister died of cancer and I lost my job, so I was so desperate and made the decision to be here in Emmaus.
- Hanna is William's angel, who is a perfect cheer leader encouraging her father to live life better.
- Little William is a naughty boy who only listens to his father.
Anyway, I do enjoy the difference in appearance between me and the other companions in Emmaus. No offence but I can’t understand why people don’t have time for their moustache, “it’s just five minutes!” There is no necessity to dress like homeless when you already are.
After breakfast, we will have a morning meeting at Emmaus at 9. It says in the official website of Emmaus that the meeting is “part of life as a community”, “sharing ideas, sorting out problems and making plans together”, but actually just arrangement of everybody’s daily job and sharing silence.
Customers don’t show up that early so I take care of the coffee corner in the morning. We will take turns to have quick lunch at the shop on Friargate, several slices of bread, ham or some vegetables, anything you can grab in the kitchen.
Limited conversations full of street slangs among companions remind me of life in high school. For instance, we would say “Bangerz” for something we are not supposed to do, like drinking and making extra money. All the rules and regulations are reminding you of being homeless living in others’ house. Nearly 70 % of the companions have something to do with crimes. A guy, who had come in just for 2 days, was back into prison again for stealing. I understand sometimes illegal behaviour can feel nature because I used to plant cannabis and sold them to my wealthy classmates in Worden High, Preston, for pocket money. No offence but it’s still so hard to feel relaxed around them.
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| Lunch made by William in the Cafe. |
Business in the afternoon is good generally, so I also help with sales. I enjoy the casual chat with the customers deciding which they’ll take, which reminds me of shopping with my families.
Emmaus has employed former chefs from some fancy restaurants to cook, so we can always have delicious food in the evening. You get meat, seafood and vegetables, everything you want. Sometimes I think they are spoiling the resources like excessive food and entertainment facilities, which aren’t problems for Emmaus because it obtains all the goods for sale through donation and get a 20 per cent off on tax as a charity organization.
As a fellow who has just come to Emmaus Preston for two weeks, I prefer to stay in my room at night before bed time. So I will be available whenever my children want to talk to me. Every evening at 7:30 I must call William, who would not go to bed without my goodnight. The boy is so relying on me, which gives me so much strength and determination to make a future plan. Because I don’t want to end up in a place you are required to sleep at a certain time and keep your routine known by everyone. With those thought I sleep tighter.
Emmaus Preston Community is a charity organization running business of collecting and trading of second-hand goods to support 24 formerly homeless people, who are provided with daily necessaries along with accommodation in Ribbleton. As a return, they work in the two Emmaus shops in town. All the goods like used furniture, clothes, accessories and so on are donated by people in the neighbourhood and sold for a bargain price which contribute to the living cost for the homeless. The organization was founded by a French priest Henri-Antoine Groues, also known as the Abbé Pierrein Paris in 1949, and the first branch in UK dates from 1990.
Below is a map of Emmaus dormitory and shop in Preston.
在較大的地圖上查看 Emmaus in Preston
