Back in March 2012, it was reported that Sedgefield & District Citizens Advice Bureau had no choice but to axe all of its outreach sessions and reduce the number of sessions in the Newton Aycliffe Bureau due to significant reductions in funding for 2012/13.
The once weekly drop in session has seen a demand that has been difficult to cope with, and many clients did not receive the advice they needed. Therefore, Sedgefield & District CAB were extremely grateful when funding for additional appointments was received from Great Aycliffe Town Council.
The money received allows the CAB to help over 300 more clients this year and train 3 new volunteers from the local area as advisers who will work from the Newton Aycliffe Office.
Pauline Chambers, Chief Executive of the Bureau, said “As an advice service we understand that times are really difficult for people right now but our team of dedicated staff and volunteers are doing everything they can to continue to provide the much needed advice service.
To help do this we have introduced a telephone gateway line which operates Monday to Friday each week. Our gateway assessors will diagnose a person’s problem and will then either send out the relevant information that the client needs or when appropriate, make them an appointment with the relevant case-worker.
You can contact the Telephone Gateway Service on 01388 825429 Monday to Thursday 10am – 3pm and Friday 10am – 1pm. However If you prefer to speak to someone face to face then you can do this at our drop in gateway session which takes place on Tuesdays 10am – 1pm at our offices in the Pioneering Care Centre at Cobblers Hall.
CAB continues to offer free debt advice so if you are getting behind with repayments, or unmanageable debts, contact us for an appointment with one of our specialist debt workers.
Why go to a fee charging agency that keeps more of your money than you are repaying on your debts? Get the advice you need completely free of charge.
f you are not at the stage of having unmanageable debts but perhaps are expecting a change of circumstances which may mean you may struggle to manage your money in future, ask to be referred to our Money Advisor.
She can give information and guidance on a wide variety of issues: pensions, tax, budgeting, utility tariffs, savings, benefits, bank accounts, in fact anything finance related. Again this can be accessed by calling into the drop in session or calling the gateway telephone number.
The start of this year was very difficult for us in terms of having to reduce services but thanks to the help from Great Aycliffe Town Council we have been able to continue to help more of those in need. We know we speak on behalf of the many people in Newton Aycliffe who have used this service and thank them for their support.
Donna Stewart
