Newbury Christians Against Poverty debt centre marks first year in lockdown
Centre was set up to help unreached areas of West Berkshire
A DEBT centre set up a year ago to help people in unreached parts of West Berkshire has marked its first anniversary.
The Christians Against Poverty debt centre was established by members of St Nicolas’ Church and Bridge Church Newbury to do something about high levels of deprivation.
The opening followed CAP identifying Newbury as being in the top five per cent of enquiries to its call centre for unreached areas of the UK.
The centre works with the churches of Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford to support those in need.
In its first year, the debt centre has helped nine families with a free face-to-face service, including seven families from Newbury and two from Hungerford.
Newbury CAP Debt Centre manager Lisa John said that the debt amounted to tens of thousands of pounds.
Mrs John said the reasons for debt were complex and included low income, relationship breakdown, joblessness, problems with benefits, illness or bereavement.
She said: “We see people living on low budgets – our hearts go out to people in that position because I don’t know how they do it.
“It’s heartbreaking.
“The last year has been incredible.
“We have visited a lot of people in their own home and learned about some very sad situations.
“And then there was Covid-19.”
The CAP Debt Help service has adapted to adhere to Government social distancing guidance to ensure the safety of staff, clients and volunteers and is continuing to support clients with problem debt.
CAP staff and volunteers are delivering essentials where needed and ensuring that people who are locked in poverty have support.
Mrs John said that calls to CAP had dropped 60 per cent during the pandemic, but she said there were people out there who needed help.
“We would love to have more families,” she said.
“We can’t do home visits, which means we wouldn’t have seen as many people as we like.
“I would expect them [the number of calls] to be up.
“We don’t know why people aren’t calling in.
“My thinking is possibly because people are dealing with their current circumstances, they have got the kids at home and just trying to get through the day to day.
“They expect things to improve once things loosen up and people struggle to accept they are in debt.
“If someone has lost their job they think ‘it’s OK, I will get a job after Covid and I can pay it back.”
Mrs John said that half her clients had waited a year before seeking help, while 30 per cent waited more than three years.
“It takes a lot of guts to take that step and call in,” she said.
“If they call earlier we can get them out of debt much quicker.
“It’s getting to people so we know we can help them.
“We have not had any new bookings for a while.
“I think people think it will get better and things will change. Even if it does improve, it’s better to get help now rather than when it gets too bad.”
When asked whether she thought demand would rise, Mrs John said: “Certainly. There are more people that need us.
“We know that there’s a massive increase in people getting Universal Credit.
“We know there’s a massive increase in unemployment.
“Just because West Berkshire is an affluent area, we are not going to suddenly become OK.
“It’s happening here as well and we know there are people out there that need us anyway and, with coronavirus on top of that, we know there’s more people.”
CAP’s service is available to everyone regardless of age, gender, faith or background.
Client M said: “I've had more help and friendly advice in my situation from CAP than from any other organisation.”
Client J said: “I’m not worrying about my debts now. I’m now wondering if I’ll get a chance to enjoy my pension.”
If you are struggling with debt and need help, contact CAP on 0800 328 0006 or visit capuk.org
