Friday Citizens Advice York Drop-ins
As you may already know, for the last three years, Tang Hall Big Local have funded a Citizens Advice York (CAY) session at Tang Hall Community Centre every Friday morning from 9:30am. We asked Cheryl (who runs the sessions) to tell us a bit about the service, and what CAY offer:
We are an independent charity and all advice given is total private, confidential, free of charge and available to anyone who lives within the Big Local area. We cover subjects such as Benefits/Debt/Employment/Personal & Relationships/Housing/Nationality & Immigration/Consumer issues plus any other you care to think of! Even if we can’t help you directly, we will know someone who can so don’t be put off if you think your query may seem unusual. Together we can identify the issue and look at the options open to you and give you advice/help on how to proceed.
The service is a drop-in one so you don’t need an appointment – just turn up and you will be seen as soon as is possible.
Below are a couple of examples of help which CAY have provided in the York area. These examples are not from Tang Hall and all personal identifiers have been removed.
Case study 1
A client who had previously been working full time and managing their finances came to us when anxiety and depression forced them to reduce their working hours. The reduction in income, exacerbated by mental health problems led to financial difficulties and debt accumulation. We supported the client over several months to negotiate affordable repayment arrangements. At the end of the process the client was feeling much less burdened by debts and beginning to look to the future.
Case study 2
A client was accused of wrongly claiming exemption for dental work. Technically this was correct – they had been in receipt of benefit but it turned out to be the wrong one. After further investigation we found that the client was actually entitled to the qualifying benefit. Proving the case wasn’t straightforward but finally, and with help from MP Rachel Maskell’s office, the client received an increase in benefit and a back payment of almost £3,000.
