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15 August 2008

Musical drama to bring to life the financial challenges faced by older people in Liverpool

Help the Aged project, supported by Barclays, helps older Liverpudlians to deal with over £195,000 of debt

Help the Aged and the Community Justice Centre are today (15 August) staging a musical drama at Lee Jones’s to raise awareness of the financial challenges experienced by older people.

'What's that in old money' is a musical drama written by Tony Forshaw, Chris Lynch and Alan Landau, with a cast of sixteen actors who represent the Community Justice Centre and a drama group set up by Help the Aged. This drama is an opportunity to bring together two vulnerable groups of people.

The story centres on its protagonist ‘Lilly’, an older person who encounters financial difficulties following the death of her husband ‘Jimmy’. Lilly’s problems are tackled with help from Help the Aged.

Help the Aged Regional Development Officer, John Cotcher, said: 'We hope the play will be an effective way of tackling a subject that many older people may not be willing to openly talk about: admitting that you have a debt or money issue, and having the confidence to seek help from a debt adviser.'

The drama coincides with the celebration of the first anniversary of the Charity’s Your Money Matters project, a free debt and money advice service for older people that is supported by Barclays. Over the last 12 months, the project, which is based at Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre, has helped local older residents manage £195,850 of debt. Liverpool was chosen by Barclays and Help the Aged because it was felt to be an area of need, with 250,640 older people living in income deprived households in the North West region – this is the highest in England[1].

Yvonne Rogers, Help the Aged Your Money Matters Adviser, who is presenting at the event said: "When we launched Your Money Matters at Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre we had a clear aim in mind: to better the lives of local older people living in deprivation, including pensioners whom we found to be living below the poverty line. After a busy but exciting first year we're well on our way to doing this.

Working with my clients over the past 12 months has been extremely rewarding, and we’re committed to helping many more people who could benefit from the work the project carries out."

Rachel Herbinson, Community Relations Manager (North West), at Barclays, said: “Barclays and Help the Aged are proud to be working towards a common goal which is helping older people to manage their finances, especially in times of change, and preventing disadvantage in the future.

We understand that pensioners sometimes face financial difficulties and that dealing with money and debt issues can be stressful. This is why we’ve made Your Money Matters an easily accessible and friendly advice service, designed to meet the needs of older people.”

General money management information is offered at group awareness sessions at various locations in and around Liverpool. These sessions can then be followed by confidential one-to-one meetings with a trained debt adviser, either as home visits or through appointments at drop-in centres providing a comprehensive money management and debt advice service. This does not include financial or investment advice.

The event starts at 2pm and will be held at the Lee Jones Centre, 119-133 Limekiln Lane, Liverpool, L5 8SN. Contact Yvonne Rogers on 0151 298 9299 for information about Your Money Matters sessions and appointments.

Notes to Editors:

 1. Case study

John, 65, from Liverpool, contacted adviser Yvonne Rogers for help in reducing the debt of his mother Marie (aged 89) and brother Kenny (aged 54), which had been brought to his attention by family relatives. John took over the family finances after being granted the power of attorney.

John said: 'It was a shock for me to discover that my family was in debt by £18,000. When I look back, I sometimes think the warning signs were there; my mother had many unopened letters which she would hide – she seemed to be living in denial.   

I also suspected they were victims of financial abuse: a nephew who was living with them at the time ran up a phone bill of £1,000, largely for excessive internet usage, which my mother is still paying; he also spent money from a loan that my brother took out for him.

Meeting adviser Yvonne Rogers was life-changing. She carried out assessments for the three of us and completed the relevant benefits forms. Yvonne checked my mother’s pension and managed to increase her weekly benefits by £20, and has sorted out debt repayments on her behalf. My brother now receives disability benefits and I receive a weekly attendance allowance of £67. If I hadn't got in touch with a debt adviser I wouldn't have known what to do, and I feel relationships between certain members within my family would have soured.' 

Interviews with client are available.

2. Your Money Matters

The Your Money Matters programme aims to support over 30,000 older people and their carers to better manage their finances, through awareness raising sessions, one-to-one basic money management sessions and debt advice. This programme consists of 17 projects spread around the country, with the majority of projects in England, in addition to a project in Scotland and one in Wales. For more information on Your Money Matters, please call Help the Aged on 020 7239 7564 or visit http://www.helptheaged.org.uk

3. Help the Aged

Help the Aged is the charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people in the UK and overseas from poverty, isolation and neglect. It campaigns to raise public awareness of the issues affecting older people and to bring about policy change. The Charity delivers a range of services: information and advice, home support and community living, including international development work. Help the Aged also funds vital research into the health issues and experiences of older people to improve the quality of later life.

All of these activities are only possible thanks to the generosity of our donors and Help the Aged is trying to increase the amount of funds raised to expand its charitable work and help the growing number of older people in need.

Help the Aged urgently needs donations and support to help it in the increasingly challenging fight to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect. Visit www.helptheaged.org.uk or call 0207 239 1982. 

4. Barclays

Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays is one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalisation. Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 127,000 people, moving, lending, investing and protecting money for over 27 million customers and clients worldwide.

5. Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre

The Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre has been running since 1973

Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre is part of Vauxhall Neighbourhood Council, which are based on two sites adjacent to each other.  

6. Community Justice Centre

The Community Justice Centre is a unique initiative, which brings justice into the heart of the community, tackling crimes and anti-social behaviour that affect the quality of life for people living in the local authority wards of Anfield, County, Everton and Kirkdale, in North Liverpool.

The first of its kind in England and Wales, the centre aims to work closely with local people to understand and tackle the causes of anti-social behaviour and crime as well as crime itself. It combines the powers of a courtroom, run by Judge David Fletcher, with a range of community resources, available to residents, victims and witnesses, as well as offenders. It also organises and supports activities involving local residents and, in particular, young people.

For more information, visit http://www.communityjustice.gov.uk/northliverpool/about.htm

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[1] Source: The English Indices of Deprivation 2004 (revised). Section 3, chart 5.12