The Difference We Make in Copeland
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Our impact in 2019/2020 The difference we make in Copeland A registered charity No. 1080581 Company Limited by Guarantee Registration No. 3954988 We are Citizens Advice Copeland Every year thousands of people come to us for advice and help with solving their problems. We're here for everyone and help with problems including managing debt or household bills, benefit checks and appeals as well as understanding rights at work and housing issues. We also provide specialist services in Egremont, Distington and Cleator Moor. We are an important part of this community and in 2019/20 we delivered advice in 8 locations where people needed us. Through our daily interaction with clients, we have a credible understanding of local needs. We use our data and insight to tailor our services, as well as help improve policies and practices locally. We're also part of the Citizens Advice service. This means we share knowledge and best practice so that people can expect a quality service. Together we work to fix the underlying causes of people's problems using evidence gathered from across our network. Putting our clients' needs at the heart of decision-making means we also work in partnership, making it easier for clients to access relevant services. During 2019/20 we have worked in partnership with organisations including Whitehaven, Egremont and District Credit Union, Phoenix Enterprise Centre, Jobcentre, North Lakes Foodbank, Copeland Borough Council, Distington Big Local, Choices Cumbria and Cumbria County Council. This is the story of our impact in Copeland Aims and Principles The Citizens Advice service provides Our service aims: Our funders Citizens Advice Copeland receives support from a wide range of funders. We’d like to thank all of the organisations that have supported us during 2019/20. We look forward to your continued support and working with all of you in future years. Copeland Borough Council Cumbria County Council Macmillan Cancer Support North Lakes Foodbank Cumbria Community Foundation The Henry Smith Charity Copeland Community Fund Money and Pensions Service Sellafield Ltd Hadfield Trust United Utilities Trust Fund Phoenix Enterprise Centre Department for Work and Pensions Cleator Moor Town Council Phyllis Harney Trust Distington Big Local Groundworks North East and Cumbria Energy Advice Project Women Out West How you can access our service Advice Face to Face: We have offices in Whitehaven and Millom offering drop-in sessions and appointments with specially trained advisors in areas including debt and benefits. On The Phone: AdviceLine For those unable to attend a face to face session a telephone advice service is available Monday - Friday by calling our dedicated AdviceLine number on 0800 144 8848. At Outreach: Advice closer to you Our advisors hold advice sessions in and around the community. In 2019/20 we delivered regular advice sessions at Cleator Moor, Distington,Phoenix Enterprise Centre, Whitehaven Job Centre and Egremont Foodbank Online: Advice at your fingertips Citizens Advice Copeland provides a range of information and service updates on our website citizensadvicecopeland.org.uk You can also find us on Citizens Advice Copeland copeland_ca Chairs Report This has been a year of unprecedented challenge for our organisation. Given the ‘normal’ pressures of Universal Credit, redundancies, unemployment, child poverty and pressure on families across our region, we then had to overlay the COVID-19 challenges. These were not only challenges to Copeland, but to our whole operations. As with all good teams, we adapted and improvised in a very short space of time. Telephone advice, video and audio conferences were all employed successfully. If you look at our benefits provided, it is obvious we have been as busy and successful as in other years. This is a testament to the professionalism of our staff and the brilliant leadership of our CEO. All available funding has been sourced and we are as financially secure as it is possible to be in these uncertain times Uncertainty is something we must learn to live with at present: firms facing financial hardships and lockdowns, all contribute to individual problems across the full spectrum of society and we need to be available to support our community through their issues. I do look forward optimistically, generally based in my confidence in the people that work in Citizens Advice Copeland delivering their unequalled service to our clients. I would like to extend my thanks to all our staff and volunteers for the work they have done and continue to do. You are magnificent! Stay safe, and look after each other. Peter Hanratty Chief Officers Report As I reflect on 2019/20 there is so much to be proud of. We celebrated our 80th birthday in September 2019 which for a local independent charity is an extraordinary achievement. Today we are dealing with many of the same issues, problems relating to poverty, housing, debt, employment and access to food. I am proud to be the Chief Officer of an organisation that has such a huge impact on people’s lives. We are only a small team of paid staff and volunteers but what we achieve is amazing. Over 2,500 people have been assisted in 2019/20 with over 15,000 issues. We have secured income gains of nearly £2 million and have assisted clients to deal with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of debt. Towards the end of this year we responded quickly to the Covid 19 pandemic changing service delivery overnight which has been our biggest challenge as an advice agency. We have continued to deliver a high level of quality advice, our financial recording meets national standards and we consistently meet and exceed targets set of us by our funders and the national Citizens Advice service and that of Advice Quality Standards. This is why I can be confident that our clients are getting the very best service. Our work within the community and with our local partners is something I continue to be proud of and I hope that we can continue to develop. All of what we have achieved could not be possible without the support from our funders and I am hugely grateful for their belief in us to deliver advice and support to Copeland residents. From Whitehaven to Millom we will continue to support those who need us in these most difficult and uncertain times. Responding to need and demand and providing the very best service we can. Shelley Hewitson Our staff and volunteers We employ 18 paid staff which includes specialist advisers, administrators, trainers and our cleaning team. Our paid staff provides advice from our offices in Whitehaven and Millom as well as at outreach locations. We have a team of 28 volunteers who undertake roles including advisers, In 2019/2020 our telephone assessors, researchers, campaigners, administrators and trustees. Our volunteers undertake a high level of training, equipping them with the skills they need to deal with our vast advisers assisted range of enquiry areas. clients to deal with 15,488 issues. Thank you to the following volunteers who have supported us in 2019/20: An increase of 22% on previous Sheila Blackadder, William Cocker, Diane Routledge, Anne Dick, Paul Cox, Paul Mitchell, Matthew years figures McKenzie, Trish Adams, Margaret Close, Mavis Hodgson, Ann Sanderson, Clare Brind, Patsy Crowther, Yan Jiang, Adrianne Calsy, Shirley Clark, Jane Micklethwaite, Hilary Hemm, Amanda Dockray, Alex Rayment, Jack Blezard, Marcus Pope, Sara Irving, Rachel McLaren, Bertha Priestly, Peter Hanratty, Peter Smith, Pam Douglas, David Wallace, Bob Kelly, Jane Donaldson , John Alderson ......We couldn’t have done it without you! Our staff and volunteers Our team of paid staff specialise in different advice areas and are experienced in giving advice and support on thousands of different issues every year. Shelley Hewison - Chief Officer John Chapman - Operations Manager Joyce Chapman - Training and Quality Officer Chris Nichol - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and our Finance officer Alison Bragg - Advice Officer specialising in Financial Inclusion Catrina Lazonby - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and lead caseworker on our Macmillan project Gillian Percival - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and lead caseworker on our Choices project Lyndsay Carver - Advice Officer specialising in Energy David Judd - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and lead caseworker on our Help to Claim project Rebecca Lyall, Anne McCarron and Naomi Wright - Financial Inclusion Officers Alysha Thirlaway, Emma Stone and Lauren Dunn - Administrators Rhyse Wilson - Administration Apprentice Teressa Kevern and Lan Pham - Cleaning Team “I enjoy volunteering with Volunteering Citizens Advice Copeland very much as it is very, very In 2019/20, 32 volunteers helped us to deliver our service all bringing with them skills interesting with endless and experiences to support people who live and work in Copeland. We provide full training in a position to fit your skills including administration, advice work, researchers, opportunities to learn new campaigners, training, fundraisers and trustees. Our training programme is being things. developed to meet the needs of those who are now training from home. We are grateful to the Hadfield Trust who have supported our training programme. Funding I look forward to coming into from the Copeland Community Fund also supports the recruitment of our volunteers. the office each week as my colleagues are lovely and Research by Citizens Advice found that: have made me feel very welcome. All CAB volunteers gain at least one practical skill from volunteering 4 in 5 believe that they have increased their employability This has been really good for 9 in 10 have an increased sense of purpose or self-esteem me as i moved up here 4 in 5 believe volunteering has had a positive effect on their health nearly 3 years ago and this is 9 in 10 feel more engaged with their community the only chance that i can get out and socialise as I have 2 We are extremely lucky in Copeland to have a dedicated and committed team of children” volunteers.