How our grants help: Hereford CAB

In November 2020, we agreed a grant of £10,000 be awarded to Hereford Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help support their increasingly vital services to the residents of Herefordshire.

We recently caught up with them to see how the funding is being put to use and how demand on their services is changing as Lockdown restrictions continue to ease.

The grant Citizens Advice Herefordshire received from Hereford City Council in November 2020 has enabled us to recruit and train a further 4 Volunteer Advisers. This funding contributed to providing equipment and training for the new volunteers, including telephones and laptops.   

This has increased our capacity to answer more telephone calls and increase the number of people we can help.  We now have 5 or 6 advisers available during each of our Advice Sessions and this will make it far easier for clients to contact us directly. Since 1st January 2021, we have advised 421 individual Clients living in Hereford City with 1002 different issues.  

The support of funders such as Hereford City Council has provided stability with our core service.  This has enabled us to apply for funding to recruit and train an additional Debt Specialist in November 2020, to be prepared for the rise in debt enquiries we are starting to see as we come out of lockdown restrictions.

Sonya Gregory, Advice Services Manager for Citizens Advice Herefordshire said:

  “There are many problems facing people that are now becoming more urgent as we come out of lockdown.  Housing evictions that had been paused in the courts will recommence, the Government Furlough scheme will come to an end.  This may lead to more people losing their jobs; that in turn can lead to debt problems and benefit enquiries.

It has been a difficult year for everyone, but for many of the most vulnerable in the community, the economic and social impact of the Coronavirus leave them in a crisis situation that they need help to resolve.  We are pleased to be able to continue to build our service to help those people with the support of our funders.”

It’s fantastic to hear that Hereford Citizen’s Advice Bureau has not only been able to continue fulfilling the important role they play in our community, but also increase their capabilities. We hope that as people come face to face with issues which need help and guidance in resolving, the Hereford CAB continue to be there, providing the resources needed.

If you know or are part of a community group in Hereford which requires funding, you can apply for a grant from Hereford City Council to help. For more information, visit HERE.

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