Over in Hockley, Emmanuel House has been a pillar of the community for fifty years, providing a huge range of services to people experiencing homelessness in Nottingham. Extending from hot meals and shelter, to offering a multi-functional community hub and signposting, the centre’s work is imbued with care and compassion.
Ahead of their anniversary concert events coming up this month, we chatted to Emmanuel House Marketing and Communications Manager Nicola Ramsdale, to hear about their history and the services they offer.
Could you tell us a bit about how Emmanuel House started back in 1976, and the people who founded it?
Fifty years ago, in November 1976, Emmanuel House was founded by Fr. Roger Killeen – former headmaster of the Becket School in Nottingham. He wanted to provide opportunities for people to ‘get off their bottoms’, in his words, and serve in the community. When Emmanuel House was first established it was one of the first services of its kind in the country, offering friendship, advice, tea, coffee and snacks to people who were homeless, unemployed and lonely. Many other services for people experiencing homelessness were established in similar ways after the founding of Emmanuel House.
Regional community charities in the UK, like Emmanuel House, rarely have an easy time of it. Could you tell us about the kinds of financial, or other challenges, it has faced over the years?
Like many local charities, Emmanuel House has never had an easy financial environment. The demand for our services has often grown at the same time as funding has become more competitive, meaning we have had to work hard to secure the resources needed to support people in crisis.
People often find it surprising to learn that the core operation of our Support Centre in Hockley (providing drop-in services every weekday), and the Nottingham Winter Shelter, are both funded thanks to donations and the generosity of the Nottingham community. This year, for the first time in its 22-year history thanks to funding from Nottingham City Council, we have been able to keep the Nottingham shelter open for emergency nighttime accommodation over the summer months.
Despite these challenges, what has sustained Emmanuel House for fifty years is the incredible support of our local community. We’ve always relied on the generosity of donors, volunteers, fundraisers, businesses, faith groups and community partners who share our belief that everyone deserves dignity, compassion and the opportunity to move forward. Their support has enabled us to adapt and respond to changing needs over five decades.
This year the team successfully purchased its support centre building on Goose Gate. For some people it might have been surprising that the charity didn’t own it already. What led to that being an urgent thing that needed to happen?
In March 2026, Nottingham City Council offered us the chance to purchase our building outright, after they had been leasing it to us for almost fifty years. It was something we had never been able to do before.
The full cost of the purchase was £535,000. Thanks to generous donors and careful use of our reserves, we had already raised around £460,000. So we asked the community to help us close the final gap by raising £75,000. And thanks to the extraordinary kindness of our supporters, we reached that vital target in less than a week!
It means every service we provide, every meal we cook, every life we help rebuild will have a stable and permanent home.
Emmanuel House does ‘big’ things like giving people a bed for the night… But it’s the little things we value just as highly… things that help people to feel more positive, welcomed, confident, empowered and less alone
Tell us about the team of volunteers and workers involved in Emmanuel House. What’s everyone’s responsibilities?
It’s not just individual people that support us with volunteering. Hundreds of local businesses, community groups and faith groups also support us with volunteer hours.
Our paid support staff run our essential services, including drop-in sessions providing practical and emotional support, food, drinks, showers, haircuts, clothes, toiletries, a laundry service and sleeping bags. There are accommodation services including the emergency night shelter and two longer-term single-room dispersed housing projects, a social inclusion activity programme which includes gardening, cooking, singing, mindfulness, healthy eating classes and drama, a Wellbeing Support Team supporting people with their mental health, and the Umeed Project, which works in the community with people from ethnic minority communities, ensuring people have appropriate housing and aren’t at risk of becoming homeless.
Homelessness is a pretty pervasive social issue in the UK that can be saddening. But for people who help out at Emmanuel House, what keeps them motivated and inspired?
Many of our team, including senior leaders, support workers, trustees and volunteers, have lived experience of homelessness, which helps inform our services and ensures we’re developing them in a way that suits the needs of our beneficiaries. This fosters empathy and understanding and helps us shape services that are relevant, respectful and empowering.
Emmanuel House does ‘big’ things like finding someone a new home, sorting out Universal Credit payments, giving people a bed for the night… But it’s the little things we value just as highly. These are the things that help people to feel more positive, welcomed, confident, empowered and less alone. For some people, it’s only until you experience these feelings that you’re able to feel safe and secure.
You’ve got a few things happening in October, including two great events at St Peter’s and St Mary’s Churches. Tell us more about them…
We’re delighted to be hosting two fantastic fundraising concerts in some of Nottingham’s most iconic churches. Both events will bring people together through music while helping raise vital funds for our work.
On Thursday 8 October, we’ll be holding An Evening of Hope at St Mary’s Church, featuring performances from the wonderful Belters Choir, Sing It Bold, Grassroots Vocal Choir and our own Streetlamps to Spotlights theatre group. The evening promises to be an uplifting and inspiring night, full of music, stories and community spirit.
Then on Saturday 10 October, Belters Choir will return for a separate fundraising concert at St Peter’s Church. This will be a particularly memorable evening as it marks choir founder and director Rachel Foster’s final performance before handing over the baton after more than twenty years. Audiences can expect an incredible range of a cappella music, from folk and gospel to rich international harmonies, performed by one of Nottingham’s most loved choirs.
Every ticket sold helps us continue providing practical support, safety and hope to people who need it most, with all proceeds going to Emmanuel House.
Anything else the Emmanuel House team would like to say to LeftLion readers?
As a small local charity, we simply cannot offer all the essential services we do, without support from the wider community. If you are looking to help you can set up a regular donation, donate essential items or join our kitchen volunteer team.
For more details on Emmanuel House and their fundraising concerts this month, head to their website at the link below.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
