CAB volunteers

Story: Sarah Cooper

Laurie Marris has worked at the Pitsmoor CAB for about a year. After finishing her law degree, she wanted some experience before starting solicitor training.

“It gives me experience dealing with clients, researching issues, and letter writing. You pick up skills that you can transfer to other areas of your life.”

Uzma has a child in school but says,

“I do my volunteering in school hours so that’s not a difficulty for me.”

The CAB gave her training and Uzma now works with clients to check if they are getting the right benefits.

“I really enjoy working with benefits and immigration issues, it’s really interesting. It’s good for me because now I know what to do and where to go when I have a problem. You get more self-confident and its satisfying helping other people.”

Joy Shaw became a volunteer for the CAB after going to get some advice. She has now been volunteering for around 10 years and says it’s been great using her life experience to help others.

“I like working with the local community. We get people coming in and sometimes they are really distressed. We can put their minds at ease and lift some of the pressure off. It’s just a great feeling to help people.”

CAB’s Financial Capability Project

Capability Project Pitsmoor Citizens Advice Bureau is about to launch a new service about managing household money.

They are looking for new people who want to train and pass on information and their skills to the local community. Managing money is getting harder and many people struggle to get the best deals on bank accounts, credit, electricity and gas suppliers, particularly if they cannot speak English fluently. People on low incomes usually have more complex options. The CAB wants to increase local people’s confidence when choosing a bank account or supplier, or budgeting more effectively.

To find out more about the training, contact Chris or Mike on 273 8838.