Bristol-born entrepreneur Stephen Fear, known as the phonebox millionaire, has become a patron of homeless charity Emmaus.
Dr Fear, pictured, who created his first business aged 14 from a phonebox on his Bristol council estate, said due to hyperactivity as a child and the breakup of his parents’ marriage when he was four, he developed a wanderlust that often led to him being alone on the streets at night. 
“Being cold and alone at 2am with no money and no friends is not a nice place to be,” he said.
“Homelessness is not a lifestyle choice. Something went wrong in that person’s life which hasn’t yet been put right. In helping people in that situation, Emmaus is providing a huge service to the country as well as to the individual involved.”
He said he was hugely impressed when he met Emmaus Bristol chief executive Dr Richard Pendlebury MBE at a lunch in honour of The Queen during her Jubilee year which was attended by both HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 2012.
“Dr Pendlebury and I continued to stay in touch which culminated with him asking me to be patron earlier this year,” he said.
The charity was run like a family business in that it involved all residents in working to create the money needed to sustain the community, he said.
“I hope to help create more revenue through developing commercial interests for the charity so that more homeless people can become companions, before maybe going on to live in homes of their own and find work externally. We are there for them as long as they need us though.”
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is Royal Patron of Emmaus UK and former Archbishop of Canterbury envoy Terry Waite is President.
Emmaus was started in France in 1947 by Father Abbé Pierre in a bid to alleviate homelessness on the streets of Paris, created by the Second World War. It has 24 homes through the UK where men and women who have become homeless can find, not only refuge, but a job too.
Dr Fear has an established property empire and interests in a number of industries, including green technology, hotels, residential care and manufacturing.
He is entrepreneur in residence at the British Library; a position formerly held by the late Dame Anita Roddick, and last was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from UWE Bristol for his continued service to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.
