Emmaus Furniture Mine help Men Unite

Hanley charity shop – Emmaus Furniture Mine – has helped to kit out a brand new office for a pioneering mental health support group.

Emmaus Furniture Mine donated six desks, office draws, reception chairs and a large meeting room table to Men Unite – who will soon be moving into their own premises.

Men Unite started as an online group offering support to men suffering with depression, addiction, who may feel isolated, have relationship troubles or finding it difficult to cope with bereavement.

After the group started in May 2019 members have grown to more than 10,000 and founders are now keen to open their office base in Stoke-on-Trent.

“I had come across Men Unite on Facebook,” says Emmaus Furniture Mine manager John Webbe. “I think they are doing some great things, literally saving mens’ lives through the group, and when I saw a post from them mentioning their new office I wanted to help as much as we could.

“After sending a message to them a couple of the Men Unite team came down to the store and we were able to deliver desks, chairs, draws and a large table for them.

“We really wish them all the best and its incredible how many members they have now. Mental health is not something to ignore and what they are doing is really special.”

Founder of Men Unite, Craig Spillane said: “It’s great to build links and partnerships with local established charity’s and organisations. The work Emmaus does for the people in our city is incredible. It was great meeting John and listening to the history and the story behind Emmaus as a charity and it was great meeting his delivery team too – they told me they love what we do.”

Emmaus Furniture Mine is run by independent charity Emmaus North Staffs, which helps to support the most vulnerable in society, in particular those who have recently been homeless. The two work together to encourage recently homeless people to rebuild their lives in a supportive environment with meaningful work to develop new skills and experiences.

Both John and Craig are now hoping to continue working together in the future to support each other’s causes.

“We will be keeping in touch with Craig and his team and we will certainly be looking at ways in which we can work together in the future,” said John, who is also executive lead at Emmaus North Staffs.

“They have already done so much and we are really glad we were able to help.”

Craig added: “We will be working together with John and Emmaus, in the future in some capacity, to help the homeless people in Stoke on Trent and the surrounding areas.”

Emmaus Furniture Mine is the largest reuse furniture store in North Staffordshire. As well as selling household furniture, electrical goods and clothing are on sale at the Cannon Place store which is open to the public six days a week. Deliveries are also available throughout Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding areas.

For more information about Emmaus Furniture Mine see here.

Find Men Unite here.