Money Advice South Tyneside helps people overcome £1million of debt
Church backed debt advice service helps people manage more than £1 million of debt
A debt advice service founded by a parish, working in partnership with a Church of England diocese, community groups, churches and local authorities, has marked a ‘shocking’ milestone of having helped people manage more than £1 million of debt.
The parish of Jarrow and Simonside in South Tyneside set up the service in January 2022, giving advice on debt and budgeting, with Community Money Advice, the national charity supporting churches and community groups to help people overcome their money problems.
The service, with support from the Diocese of Durham and Communities Together Durham - the Church Urban Fund partnership with churches, charities and local authorities - was founded as a response to financial hardship caused by the Covid pandemic. The parish of 22,000 people is in one of the most deprived communities in England.
Since opening, the service has become an independent charity, Money Advice South Tyneside, and has grown to provide support to people across the region including giving advice on benefits.
Sam Harrison, project manager, said the charity offers confidential assistance, meeting people at drop-ins, and working alongside local groups and wider support networks.
“I love what I do, everyone’s circumstances are different, and it’s always good to see the relief on people’s faces when we find a way through a financial muddle and work towards them being free from the worry and stress,” she said.
The Rev Lesley Jones, Rector of Jarrow and Simonside, said many families and individuals had no savings to cushion them against unexpected expenses or events.
“When we began, there were people who were really desperate, because in low- income communities, money is tight anyway and by the end of the pandemic people’s savings had been used up," she said.
“It did not need to be huge amounts of money. If you are already short of money and have no savings, the impact on your mental health of being in debt by even a small amount can be huge. We had one single mother with two children whose £300 of monthly child support had been missed by her ex partner.
“This meant she could not pay her rent and she could see everything beginning to spiral out of control, with just one missed payment. We were able to support her very quickly.”
She added: ‘We care about what happens in our communities, because God cares about people in our communities too.’
The debt advice service was set up in 2022 with generous funding from Lord Crewe's Charity. South Tyneside Churches Together and South Tyneside Council have also given support.
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