She was a low-paid care worker giving up a well-earned day off to volunteer at a homeless centre. He was an abuse survivor who had fallen so low he just wanted to die. Lying outside in the cold, he had neither the energy nor the will to cross the threshold for a bed and a free meal. Emma Rule sat down beside him and talked softly to him throughout the night. By the time the sun came up, two things had happened. She had persuaded him to try to live for one more day. And his plight had persuaded her that she had to do more to end the scourge of homelessness.
A few days later she put a post on Facebook appealing for bands to set up a benefit concert.
Four years later her crusade has become Musicians Against Homelessness, she is on course to raise £300,000 and she has received an award for her work from Prime Minister Theresa May.
This summer Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy will headline two festival benefits. And other famous recruits include Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, the X Factor’s Rowetta, Steve Diggle from the Buzzcocks, Neville Staple from the Specials and Scouting For Girls.
And yet it all started with that one chance encounter.
Emma, 47, told the Daily Express: “I was volunteering for Crisis At Christmas on Christmas Day in 2014. That night I found a man sitting humped in a corner outside with his head in his hands, it was bitterly cold.
“I tried to engage him in conversation but he would only slowly shake his head from side to side. He looked completely broken and empty. I went and got us both a coffee and sat down on the floor next to him. I tried for hours to get him to speak, sometimes asking questions, sometimes talking about life in general hoping to find some common ground.
“For long spells I just sat there in silence and he said nothing. Eventually I put my arm around his shoulders and pleaded with him to come inside out of the cold. He broke down sobbing and shaking. I held him for what seemed like a long time.
“Through the sobs he told me that this was to be his last night alive, that he had nothing to live for and that not one person would care if he was dead. He told me about his childhood and the horrific sexual and physical abuse he had suffered at the hands of numerous adults. His entire life had been horrendous and tragic.
“He had been homeless most of his adult life. He told me he’d never told anyone what happened to him before, he felt so ashamed and disgusted that he had locked it away. He said it didn’t matter now that I knew because he’d be dead by the morning, and that nobody would care anyway.
“I tried desperately to reassure him that people could help, that he could talk to people, that people cared and that I really did care. We were both crying. We made each other a promise – he would give life one more day and come into the shelter and let me find a safe place for him to lie down and be warm.
“I asked him to at least try and talk to someone about his problems, as now he’d managed to tell me. He promised me another day.
“I promised him that I cared and that other people would care too, and if he could trust me he would see that.
“He went into the centre and I saw him a few days later when I was volunteering again. He came over and gave me a huge hug.
“Through Crisis, he’d seen a doctor, a counsellor and all sorts of people. His life was obviously still in a dreadful state but some doors had opened to him.
“I’ll never forget that man or that night and have done everything I can to deliver my promise.”
Cheshire-born Emma hadn’t expected much when she put that first appeal on Facebook asking if any bands would play a fundraising gig for Crisis.
“I thought I’d raise a couple of hundred quid,” she said. “But scores of bands responded.”
One band she met put her in touch with Alan McGee, the former Oasis manager and Creation Records boss.
“I told him my idea to launch Musicians Against Homelessness. He thought it was fantastic and offered to become our patron.”
MAH, as it is known, launched officially at McGee’s Tabernacle club, a converted chapel in Talgarth, Mid-Wales, in September 2016. Liverpool rock band Cast headlined, and more gigs followed that month.
Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays was a prominent early supporter. “In 2017 we launched MAH in Northern Ireland too, raising money for the Simon Community,” Emma says.
They started to attract bigger and bigger names, including Britpop stars Dodgy, Manchester indie band James and The X Factor’s Rowetta.
Emma says: “It started with me pestering people but as time went on, musicians started contacting me. Dodgy’s drummer rang me direct. Steve Diggle from the Buzzcocks said ‘What can I do?’
“Then last year James decided to re-record their hit Sit Down with an orchestra for us off their own back.
“It was odd, I was still a minimum wage carer working 12- to 15-hour shifts and taking calls from big rock stars.
“It was a huge strain but my husband was really supportive. There were times I wondered how I could carry on but I’m so glad I did. I couldn’t have done it without all the volunteer local managers who put shows on unpaid.”
MAH are on course to raise £300,000 by the end of this year and she says: “Every single penny raised at our events goes directly to charity.”
In September 2017 Emma, who now works at Jimmy’s, a shelter in Cambridge, was invited to Number Ten to receive a Points Of Light Award. Mrs May congratulated her for “inspiring thousands”.
Mother of two Emma said: “She was manically busy but found time to praise the work I’d done. I was so proud MAH was recognised, especially in Crisis’s 50th year.
“Our aim was to get people talking and taking action on homelessness through music and community.
“Without Crisis and the many who volunteer at Christmas, thousands of people would be out in the cold. But Crisis isn’t just for Christmas. They work the whole year round.”
MAH have staged gigs across all genres, including opera and reggae, DJ events, stand-up comedy shows and homeless choirs too.
Last year MP4, a rock band featuring MPs from the Conservative Party, Labour and the SNP, played at Speakers House in the Palace of Westminster to raise awareness for MAH.
This year MAH have stages at eight Foodie Festivals. As well as Boyzlife, Scouting For Girls and Ska legend Neville Staple from the Specials will be playing.
Brian McFadden said: “Keith Duffy and I are delighted to bring our Boyzlife tour to Foodies Festival and we’re we’re proud to be headlining the Musicians Against Homelessness stage in support of Crisis.
“It’s a perfect day out – wonderful food, glorious sunshine and music everybody knows and loves.
“Homelessness is a growing problem all over the UK and every penny raised helps save lives. We are looking forward to seeing many of our fans there.”
Emma said: “We have a stage at Lindisfarne and other festivals too. It’s really heartening. Bands give so much and for nothing because they believe in what we’re doing.
“Homelessness can be ended but only if the root causes of the problem are tackled – things like lack of truly affordable housing, housing benefit that doesn’t cover the cost of renting, cuts to homelessness services. By fixing these problems we can begin to turn the tide on homelessness and bring an end to it once and for all.”
See Foodie Festival dates and buy tickets at foodiesfestival.com – enter MAH20 for 20 per cent off.
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