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20 June 2008

Older residents' debt reduced by over £90,000 in Blackpool

Help the Aged and Barclays celebrate first year of Your Money Matters project

Help the Aged and Barclays are celebrating the first successful year of the Your Money Matters project in Blackpool, during which time the project has worked with over 200 older people in the area, and has helped to increase benefits by £127,592 and reduce debt by £90,187.

The project, which is run by Help the Aged and supported by Barclays, is based at Blackpool Citizens Advice Bureau and offers free and impartial money management and debt advice to local older people through group information sessions and one-to-one appointments. Blackpool Your Money Matters Adviser, Yvonne Kent, has also been assisted by three Barclays volunteers who run some of the group sessions.

Yvonne Kent said: "When we launched Your Money Matters at Blackpool Citizens Advice Bureau a year ago we said we wanted to improve the skills, confidence and financial situation of local older people, and 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, Barclays Community Relations Manager, North West Region, said: “It is very encouraging that, only 12 months after its launch, the Your Money Matters project at Blackpool Citizens Advice Bureau is making such a positive and tangible difference to the lives of older people living in Blackpool. 

The project has made a great start and we’re determined to fully utilise the expertise and the skills of our employees, in partnership with the knowledge and experience of Help the Aged, to continue this success into its second year.” 

General money management information is offered at group-awareness sessions, open to all older people, at various locations in and around Blackpool. These sessions can then be followed by confidential one-to-one meetings with a trained debt advisor, 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.

Yvonne Kent will be attending the Money Advice Roadshow[1] on Monday 23 June , 9.30am to 12.30pm, at Hambleton Village Hall, Church Lane, Hambleton FY6 9BZ. Exhibitors also include CAB, Age Concern, DWP and other agencies that provide money and benefits advice to local older people. This is a drop-in event, open to all members of the public.

For more information about the event or on Your Money Matters sessions and appointments, please call Yvonne Kent on 01253 391 806.

For further information, please contact:

Amanda-Esther Idowu

Help the Aged PR Account Manager

Tel: 020 7239 1496

Email: Amanda-Esther.Idowu@helptheaged.org.uk

Notes to Editor

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.

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.

Blackpool Citizens Advice Bureau

Launched in 1939, Blackpool Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity providing advice and information of your rights and responsibilities, of the services available to you and ensuring that individuals do not suffer because of inability to express their needs effectively.

All Citizens Advice Bureaux in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are members of Citizens Advice, the national charity which sets standards for advice and equal opportunities and supports bureaux with an information system, training and other services. For further information, visit the website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk