Debt centre marks first year with expansion plan to meet growing need

THREE people in Henley have become debt-free in the past year thanks to the town’s new debt centre.

The figure was revealed at the Henley Debt Centre’s first anniversary celebration held at the d:two centre in Market Place on Wednesday last week for supporters, trustees and volunteers.

The service, which is supported by four Henley churches and the charity Christians Against Poverty, helps people in the RG9 postcode struggling with severe debt issues.

Former Olympic rower Debbie Bruwer, who manages the centre, and trustee Terry Grourk spoke about the need to fundraise and increase referral rates to enable the centre to hire a debt coach and expand its services from two families a month to four.

Jeremy Bray, who is minister of Henley Baptist Church, said there was a “true need” for the service.

He said: “The wonderful thing we can celebrate is that all Henley residents can have access to professional debt, counselling and support regardless of their faith. Anyone in this community can come.”

Teresa Thwaites, Christians Against Poverty’s Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire area manager, said: “Earlier in this year, you had probably in region of 300,000 visitors to Henley Royal Regatta.

“A total of 13.4 million people are living in poverty in the UK today according to the research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

“That is 45 times the visitor numbers that you had here at the regatta. Try to imagine that.

“For anyone who has never experienced it, it’s easy to hear the word ‘poverty’ and wonder what it actually means. For us, it’s simple: Poverty is when somebody does not have enough income to be able to afford living their life and simply put food on the table.

“At the moment, we are facing a massive problem in the UK and there are 9.3 million people facing debt and needing debt advice.

“The other thing is that we saw 50 per cent of our clients had either considered or attempted suicide.

“The good news is that there is hope through Henley partnering with Christians Against Poverty and now having a debt centre.

“Our services are free to our clients. It doesn’t matter what background, what faith they come from, we accept them as they are and that is really powerful.

“The unique selling point is that it is a face-to-face service — we pride ourselves on that.

“We ensure that they get supported all the way through their debt journey and that the community is undoubtedly involved in that process, so they are shown no judgement but love, care and emotional support.

“It’s a way of restoring dignity to people, helping them to get back into employment, or simply to have the tools to know how to live on a budget and be able to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Mrs Bruwer said: “Debt has the potential to be only a few steps away from any of us — job loss, bereavement, ill health, relationship breakdown.

“We have worked with many different families and individuals in our community from all walks of life over this last year.

“I’ve seen many clients who find, due to unsustainable budgets with the cost of living, that they only have a few pounds left in their bank account to last them a few weeks and have to make that choice between paying gas and electric or buying food or feeding their children or feeding themselves.

“More than 40 per cent of the clients I’ve worked with have had depression or self-harm concerns or suicidal thoughts over that time due to not being able to see a way out of their situation.

“We’ve worked with 23 families or individuals and each case is different as we all are unique in our own
circumstances.

Often for these clients, nobody else knew. Debt struggles are not something that people easily talk about and it can take years for someone to reach out for help.

“One mum that I worked with, she did have to make the choice between feeding her children or feeding herself. And, of course, she fed her children.

“She would fear for someone asking her at the school gate if she would go for coffee. And if she did go for coffee, she’d be desperately hoping that they would pay, otherwise she’d have to put it on the credit card. We’ve had many clients who feared opening the post and had mountains of post to open and sometimes didn’t want to open the door because of the fear of debt collectors coming along.

“Many were just trying to keep on top of things and genuinely hoping or thinking that it was going to get better.

“My job, with our volunteers, has been to work alongside these families and individuals one day at a time, really encouraging them, caring for them, processing the necessary paperwork and making phone calls to creditors. I still spend a lot of time just listening.”

Mrs Bruwer revealed that three clients in the past year had become debt-free thanks to her help.

She said: “The highlight for me has been the privilege of seeing lives changed and individuals blossom as the weight of debt has gradually lifted from their shoulders.

“Once the weight is shared, people often feel able to integrate back into the community and then in turn gain the benefits of what that community can bring people.

“When people are willing to open up their cares and hurts and struggles and financial hardships, it is a real privilege to be trusted enough to try to help them on that journey.

“There are various types of support that clients often need: crisis support, short-term support and long-term support.

“With crisis support, I’ve learned a lot over this year and feel extremely blessed that our community has so many pockets of help out there.”

Mrs Bruwer said the centre was fundraising to recruit another debt coach in order to take on more
clients. She will be doing her bit by running the Henley half marathon on Sunday, October 8.

Maryanne Uwaezuoke runs the centre’s life skills programmes helping to teach people how to manage money management.

She said: “Basically, it’s giving tips and ideas on how to live well on a low income. We started small as it was our first time.

“Six women joined us from various walks of life, including a full- time mum and a teacher and I think this reflects where we are at today in this country.

“Many more of us are struggling financially. According to recent research by Christians Against Poverty, a quarter of the UK population would struggle to pay an unexpected bill of £200, so it doesn’t take much to tip the balance for any of us.

“I teach practical, money-saving techniques when shopping and cooking, low budget but healthy meals and energy-saving tips.

“We did some fun practicals together… we even did some cooking and some crafts, so we tried to make it a bit of fun as well.

“We went on to look at the bigger picture of money management, dealing with life’s pressures, the mental, physical and emotional health, then finishing up with tips on good communication and maintaining healthy relationships, all with a free lunch thrown in to allow time to build relationships and a sense of community.”

In the new year, she will launch a job club, helping people to find work.

Mrs Uwaezuoke said: “This covers tips on how to do a good CV, write a great cover letter, how to handle interviews and, all importantly, how to keep a job once they’ve been offered it.”

Mr Grourk said the debt centre was established with the help of Citizens Advice and the Nomad food bank as well as St Mary’s Church, Holy Trinity, Christ Church and Henley Baptist Church.

He said: “Since then we’ve had two additional churches joining us, St Nicholas in Remenham and Sacred Heart Catholic Church."

He thanked the Mosawi Foundation and Mulberry Trust and said: "Without [them] we wouldn’t have been able to get up and running and recruit staff with confidence. 

“We’ve had help from the Henley Town Council, which has pledged support for when we can recruit the debt coach.”

The centre also partners with the John Hodges Trust, Henley Lions Club and the Henley Relief Fund. It has also received support and funding from South Oxfordshire District Council and the Aliquando Choir in Henley.

Mr Grourk said: “Our message is we want to do more. We think we can get the funding but to achieve that we need to have a higher referral rate.

“We need to let people know more about us and the benefits that working with us can give.

“The community charities, the surgeries, the schools, the voluntary services, the more people know about it, the better.”

• Food and drink was provided by Waitrose and Brakspear.