A new service is in town to help residents solve their financial worries.
Chester-le-Street housing provider, Cestria Community Housing launched its Money Works campaign this week to raise awareness of a range of financial issues including debt, benefits, utilities, employability, digital inclusion and budgeting.
The free service is provided by Cestria’s team of money workers who have been spreading the word about the fantastic advice available to its tenants – and the difference that advice can make. And now for the first time ever, they are opening up the employment and digital inclusion service to all residents living in Chester-le-Street.
Since April this year, the team has helped over 180 Cestria tenants to increase their incomes by a total of £357,000 and they want to keep helping people and increasing that amount.
Are you unemployed, looking for a new job or thinking of starting your own business? Do you need help with getting online and accessing the internet or social media then the team may be able to help.
Money worker, Tracey Pearson, said: “We want to get out in the communities we serve, to really help promote our service.
“We will be taking The Money Works campaign to all kinds of events, right across the area, running drop-in sessions at Cestria schemes, making sure nobody is missing out on the advice which could save them a lot of money.
“For many of our residents, getting their benefits checked, and sorting out their problems with debt make a truly life changing impact on them.”
Jan Welsh, interim manager for financial inclusion at Cestria, said: “Our service is about so much more than just checking people are claiming the right benefits – we can now offer a wide range of services, whether it’s sorting out debts, helping people find work, or explaining the impact of the Government’s welfare reforms, for all those things, we are here to help.”
For more information, contact The Money Works team at Cestria on freephone 0800 587 0001, email advice@themoneyworks.org.uk or visit www.themoneyworks.org.uk