Helping hub

The local HUB in St Leonards-on-Sea is, I believe, a brilliant and necessary place for people to go for help, advice, guidance and support. An invaluable service to the local community, writes Zelly Restorick.

The Citizens Advice Bureau is a very busy service, invaluable for anyone who needs help in a range of matters, such as understanding or completing official paperwork, dealing with debt or financial management, or signposting. A friend of mine said about their recent visit to the CAB: “Very helpful, more than helpful actually… Sometimes it’s the amount of time, because they’re so busy, but they’re usually good, but loads of people there at the moment – loads of people everywhere, waiting to be seen.”

The following report by Barry Cooper from Business Development and Campaigns at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, reflects on the past year and sums up the challenges which the organisaation faces.

“As we re-opened our doors at the start of a new year, we looked back to 2015 with a degree of satisfaction. The Advice & Community Hub had seen over 10,600 visits and received over 21,000 phone calls.

The Advice & Community Hub based at Renaissance House, London Road, St. Leonards is home to three charities providing free, confidential, impartial and quality assured advice:

1. Citizens Advice 1066 – advice on all topics, including debt, employment, consumer rights, discrimination and relationships
2. BHT [Brighton Housing Trust]– housing and support services including specialist housing and immigration advice
3. HARC [Hastings Advice & Representation Centre] – advice, information and representation on all welfare benefits and tax credits

2015 in brief

• BHT prevented homelessness on 294 occasions saving the state £7,350,000. We delivered this service on funding of just £46,158
• BHT prevented homelessness and saved 29 homes under the Court Duty Scheme on funding of £2,117
• HARC helped clients gain over £3,340,000 in benefits they were entitled to but otherwise wouldn’t have received
• CA1066 helped 4,600 people with over 16,000 issues
• CA1066 Money Advice Service helped people manage over £3,000,000 of debt

Looking forward, we have a sense of trepidation. We anticipate helping more people with their issues, but with less funding.

Changes coming in 2016 that will affect our clients include:

• Right to rent rules are introduced
• Roll out of Universal Credit
• Housing benefit rate freezes
• Benefit caps
• Council Tax Increases & reduction in support
• Local Housing Allowance rates applied to social housing rents
• Freeze on working age benefits
• Changes to Pension benefits

These changes, together with cuts to local services, are likely to create a greater demand for our services. Funding for The Hub and its three charities is under threat of further reduction. This may have a critical impact on the vital services we provide to local people, including the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Citizens Advice 1066 is already turning away people in need of debt advice, which its new Chief Executive has described as unacceptable.

The Advice Hub is at the heart of the community and is looking at all possible ways of working with the NHS, local authorities and other local charities and groups to keep services going for the people who need them.”

Citizens’ Advice Bureau: the Advice & Community Hub is based at Renaissance House, London Road, St Leonards-on-Sea TN37 6AN. Tel 01424 721 458 (reception), 03444 111 444 (advice line). Open for drop-in on weekdays from 9am to 12.30pm, and on Mon, Wed and Fri also from 1-4pm.

Also in: Home Ground