_{Award-winning Adelaide documentary maker, Lara Damiani will release her documentary A Place to Call Home, which tells the story of the making of the Emmaus Community. Photo: Supplied.}

Now, more than ever, in our uncertain and challenging times, a strong sense of community is critical and Award-winning Adelaide documentary maker, Lara Damiani, will release her documentary that tells the story of a community in Perth that’s changing lives.

Ms Damiani’s documentary A Place to Call Home tells the story of the making of Emmaus Community in Perth, WA - an extraordinary place created by an extraordinary man - Alan Archer.

It is a community that’s become a safe haven for people in need.

After singing and performing on stage around the world to signing up with a record label whose clients included Prince and Michael Jackson, Alan’s life was transformed by a powerful experience in a Los Angeles church.

_{Award-winning Adelaide documentary maker, Lara Damiani will release her documentary A Place to Call Home, which tells the story of the making of the Emmaus Community. Photo: Supplied.}

Giving up a wild life of parties, drinking and performing, Br Al returned to Australia to work in a 500 bed homeless men’s shelter in Kings Cross and later from one small house in Queens Park, Perth, managed to create a community of 12 houses for over 60 adults who live with mental illness.

Archdiocese of Perth Vicar for Social Outreach, Dr Terry Wilson said the tele-documentary will showcase the amazing outreach undertaken by the wide-reaching network of the Catholic Church in Perth.

“I speak confidently when I say that Al has an authentic spirit and passion for the work that he does, and those who meet him are always in awe of his dedication and contentiousness,” Dr Wilson said.

“The work of the Emmaus Community is an integral part of the social outreach work of the Church and we are so very proud to be working alongside him.”

Psychiatrists and mental health professionals have also spoken about how the Emmaus Community reduces hospitalisation and dependency on the mental health system.

Residents spoke about how it’s changed their lives.

“The story of why and how Al created this extraordinary community is so inspiring” said Ms Damiani who travelled to the highlands of Vietnam and Hanoi to make her documentary showcasing the work of 2020 Australian of the Year Dr James Muecke.

“The film not only gives an insight into the creation of this extraordinary place but also an insight into what it’s like to live with mental illness” she said.

“In our world of ever increasing isolation and mental health challenges, Emmaus Community is a timely reminder of how communities can change lives. It’s a great example of how the community spirit can really make our world a much better place.”

In a story published by The Record in 2015, Br Al spoke with then-journalist Dr Marco Ceccarelli and recalled his journey of how the Emmaus Community came to fruition.

It was in early 1996, when he was providing emergency and short-term accommodation for people with mental health issues, that Br Alan came to the realisation that eight weeks was not a sufficient time frame of recovery for the patients he looked after.

Many of the individuals he saw released from care in the Crisis Care Unit near Bentley where he worked kept on returning – the struggles of loneliness and isolation being too much to bear.

It was only after many hours spent in prayer that he decided to devote his life to the creation of a place where people suffering from mental illness could live, be surrounded by a community, and gradually improve at their own pace.

_{Award-winning Adelaide documentary maker, Lara Damiani will release her documentary A Place to Call Home, which tells the story of the making of the Emmaus Community. Photo: Supplied.}

The idea of the Emmaus Community was thus born. Br “Al”, as he likes to be called, purchased a home in the suburb of Queens Park with the intention of creating a community of people suffering from mental health who could live independently, with support and assistance, whilst sharing the same journey.

The home initially accommodated seven people.

With the support from now Archbishop Emeritus of Perth, Barry James Hickey, the community grew significantly over time to accommodate approximately 40 members who now reside in one of eight residential properties in Queens Park.

“Emmaus is a place where people can feel accepted and loved, and grow at their own speed. God has made each person differently, each has a different journey and the message of Jesus is about being inclusive. That is basically why Emmaus was started, so that people can feel included, accepted and loved,” Br Al said.

“Part of what governments do to deal with mental health is to create a structure and make people fit in it. Here, at Emmaus, we do things from a spiritual point of view. Whether it takes someone a week or 10 years, that is irrelevant. I have found that loving is the only way, for us that’s the way we survive, without just being a structure,” he added.

_{Award-winning Adelaide documentary maker, Lara Damiani will release her documentary A Place to Call Home, which tells the story of the making of the Emmaus Community. Photo: Supplied.}

Br Alan is a consecrated brother, who has taken vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and hospitality and is directly at the service of the Catholic Archbishop of Perth. He takes a Franciscan approach to his spirituality and is completely dedicated to steering Emmaus through the good and bad times.

“It would be remiss of me to say that everything has been pleasant at Emmaus. There have been some low points, such as the tragic loss of someone who was with us for ten years; it was a sad moment that brought us together in mourning.

“Yet there have also been many high points, such as seeing someone who has come to us illiterate develop reading skills and joining TAFE, or someone who has suffered abuse receive a hug. These are the small things that keep myself, and Patricia, my co-worker, going,” Br Al said.

“A Place to Call Home” will premiere on ABC Compass on Sunday 19 April at 6.30 pm and will then be available for online streaming on ABC iView.