Centre Launches Major Scheme To Help People With Their Money Matters

A major initiative to offer training on money matters and so help ease debt problems is about to be rolled out across Derby.

The Citizens Advice and Law Centre in the city is taking part in a £3m project funded by the Nationwide Building Society called MoneyActive.

Debt is the number one issue dealt with by Citizens Advice Bureaux across the country.

Advisers at the centre in Green Lane, Derby, last year alone dealt with 2,174 general cases and another 819 specialist, more complex cases. There may be more cases that are not known or were helped by other organisations.

The figures are expected to increase this year because of the recession.

Unusually, the information to help people will not be given by paid staff.

Bill Price is project manager for the Derby scheme and heads up six volunteers. These will, in turn, train other volunteers who will be able to go to voluntary organisations and train their frontline workers to pass on information to people with financial difficulties.

Reasons for being in debt include people being unable to set up bank accounts because of bankruptcy or county court judgements, people being unable to understand forms because of language difficulties, and people with mental health problems who may spend without realising they are getting into problems.

The volunteers have been trained in basic money management and will use a ‘financial toolkit’ to advise and explain to people where they may be wasting money and how to save it instead.

“The whole idea is that by helping people manage their money more effectively it reduces the levels of financial problems and stress associated with debt,” said Bill.

“Effectively, this means that it will hopefully cut down the number of people coming to see us who are desperate because they are in severe financial straits.

“We also want to give people more independence in running their financial affairs so that they don’t feel they have to go to doorstep lenders, some of whom are not regulated and will be charging interest rates in excess of 1000 per cent.”

The volunteers will also be passing on information about people’s rights and what public money they are entitled to claim, such as child tax credits.

Sue Holmes, chief executive of the Citizens Advice and Law Centre in Derby, said: “We are delighted to be one of the organisations across the country taking part in this national scheme.

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“Debt is a serious problem which impacts not only on individuals but also on their families and can at times have severe and tragic consequences.

“Hopefully, this initiative will help many people to manage their finances better and reduce or preferably eliminate debt, help them save for rainy days and, crucially diminish the risk of tragedy.”

For further information contact Sue Holmes on 01332 228727
 

Release On: October 16, 2009