Our charity has spent this week calling for everyone in Bucks to join us as we launch our new #DebtAwareBucks week from the 8th – 14th April.
We have organised this week as we want to shine a spotlight on not only the reasons people may find themselves in debt and the issues people are facing but how help can be accessed.
We have seen a 16% increase in people needing advice on debt this last year as the cost of living crisis pushed more people into financial difficulty.
Research from Citizens Advice has found that five million people in the country are now in a household with a negative budget (An increase of 50% over the last 4 years), including 1.5 million children. With a further 2.35 million people living on empty – only escaping a negative budget by cutting their essential spending back to unsafe levels.
We often find that people struggling with debt do not know who to turn to or are too embarrassed about their situation to speak up. We have organised this week as an add on to National Debt Awareness week to really concentrate on the help available locally. Because we believe that In order to help people in Bucks who are struggling with debt it is crucial that everyone comes together to raise awareness of the advice that is available to help them.
Camilla Smith-Hammock, Communications Manager for our charity says,
‘Whilst we took part in and supported the national debt awareness campaign it struck us that the information and advice our clients want and need had to be more relevant to them and the area they live. Given the amount of people we are seeing with debt issues we thought it needed another week of focus so that people who are struggling know that quality, confidential help is available on their doorstep and that they will not be judged for seeking it out’.
Sadly, more and more people are falling into debt as their income falls below the cost of covering essential costs, like housing, energy and food. Unfortunately, many people still don’t know where to turn for help, particularly if they have never struggled with their finances before. There are also a number of unknowns and myths around debt which we hope to break down in the week.
We want to ensure that by the end of the week people are more aware of what debt advice is and are less worried about seeking help, with it being seen as less of a taboo subject. We want everyone to be aware of the different ways to access help from not only us but other local charities and organisations too. To do this we have been sharing key information on our social media accounts, with other organisations and in local libraries ensuring as many people as possible know where to go for advice. We have also been encouraging people to sign up to our free Money Matters course to help with learning how to budget and approach finances practically.
We want to breakdown certain myths- such as ’ getting debt advice may negatively affect your credit score’ to show they are not true, so people aren’t put off seeking advice based on incorrect information.
Craig Glynn our Intermin CEO says,
“There’s a strong stress component to experiencing a financial problem such as debt and there’s unfortunately stigma and shame that surrounds it.”
“If you feel ashamed that you have a financial problem at the moment and you feel alone, there’s a couple of thousand people that we’ve talked to this year so far who are in exactly the same position. It’s not uncommon, it’s increasingly common, there is no shame in it, and support is out there.
