£1.5m Project Advances Debt Support

08 February 2010

DAWN Advice is working to further improve debt services across North East and Cumbria through its role in an innovative new £1.5million advice project.

DAWN Advice will work alongside the region's Citizen Advice Bureaux to offer additional financial advice services throughout the north with particular focus on people living in rural areas.

Liz Chadwick, Chief Executive of DAWN Advice, said: "Over the previous 12 months we have seen requests for advice jump by 18.4 per cent while debt issues have soared by 20.2 per cent. Rural communities appear to have been particularly affected as there is a distinct lack of access to advice services in these areas - leaving residents in desperate need of extra support. We're confident we can help meet this increased demand."

A new telephone advice line will be established as part of the £1.5million scheme, which will allow DAWN Advice to create three new specialist telephone adviser roles to manage the scheme.

Extra face-to-face services, handled by the Citizen Advice Bureaux, will also be introduced. Both services will be funded through the Northern Rock Foundation's Managing Money Programme.

Liz added: "The programme will also launch a new pilot scheme that will see two video booths set up in remote areas across the region which will allow people to access advice using video conferencing technology.

"Although video conferencing may represent a new challenge for us - its success will open up an entirely new way to deliver advice services. Most people prefer to receive face-to-face advice but can not always travel to their nearest town; this aspect of the programme will allow people facing these difficulties to take advantage of debt advice regardless of where they live or their capacity to travel."

As a result of the new programme every channel of debt advice delivery will be integrated to offer greater choice to clients and to ensure that people access debt advice quicker than through present resources.

Penny Wilkinson, Chief Executive at Northern Rock Foundation, said: "The turn of the year is a particularly difficult time of year for people with debt problems and in the current financial climate we know there will be a lot of families in the region struggling to make ends meet. Our Managing Money Programme aims to help people in debt, or have other financial problems and needs."

Alongside the three new positions at DAWN Advice the funding from the Northern Rock Foundation will also provide 12 debt advisers at Citizen Advice Bureaux across the region, who will aim to help 8,000 people in two years.

Set up in 1998, DAWN Advice is a Northumberland-based social enterprise and a member of the UK's largest network of free, advice-providing organisations, adviceuk and will now become a Member of the National Association of Citizen's Advice Bureau. It offers advice and information on a number of issues including debt, housing, employment, welfare benefits and family law.