Emmaus Cambridge CEO Diane Docherty to retire after 11 years
Emmaus Cambridge’s CEO Diane Docherty is retiring after 11 years of working to combat homelessness.
The Landbeach-based charity held a summer party and barbecue on site to thank Diane for her work, which has been pivotal to its development and the community of residents - known as companions - who live there.
Emmaus Cambridge supports up to 50 people who have experienced homelessness by providing a home for as long as they need it and meaningful work in its social enterprises, in Joan’s Coffee Shop, or the community.
Companions are offered a stable environment to learn new skills and regain their confidence.
In her time there, Diane transformed the board of trustees, created a new core team of staff, improved the buildings and grew the social enterprises.
She said: “Emmaus has become a family, it’s a real community. We’ve never been a front-line service and a lot of people here don’t need that; they need somewhere safe to be after they’ve been through that initial trauma. I think that’s what we’ve done really, provided a place for people to change their lives.”
Among those attending the summer party were Terry Waite, president of Emmaus UK, who has just been made a Knight Commander in the King’s Birthday Honours, and Selwyn Image, the founder of Emmaus Cambridge and the Emmaus movement in the UK.
Selwyn presented Diane with the Emmaus Founders Award, which commemorates individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the work of the charity in the UK, and she received a thank you letter from the Emmaus royal patron.
Among recent major developments at the charity were the installation of six Solhause pods, gifted by the Hill Group of developers.
These new self-contained homes, which opened on site in January, enabled Emmaus Cambridge to expand the support they are offering to those experiencing homelessness.
Emmaus Cambridge runs two social enterprises - a charity shop and house clearance service.
Diane told those gathered at the celebration: “It has been my joy and privilege to work at Emmaus Cambridge for the last 10 years. I have met some amazing and inspirational people and I am hugely proud of what we have achieved.
“There is still work to do, and I look forward to seeing the community grow and flourish under new leadership.”
Diane will step down from her role at the end of June, with Donna Talbot leaving her role as communications and income generation director at Arthur Rank Hospice Charity to start in the role in September.
To find out more about Emmaus Cambridge, or to get involved, visit emmaus.org.uk/cambridge.
