Need help with your money
matters?
A free and practical debt advice service is on
offer to our tenants and leaseholders offering confidential and
practical budgeting, debt and welfare advice.
This service was piloted in
the Shepway area in November and is now being offered to all East
Kent Housing tenants in the New Year.
The Money Advice Service is
run through face to face sessions in a relaxed and private setting,
which will offer personalised advice that takes into account any
personal or specific needs of our tenants. The type of advice
offered covers a wide range of everyday money matters such as
personal budgeting, debt management, insurance to retirement.
Each session takes around 45 minutes and can include further follow
up sessions, if required.
To find out more contact
the:
Canterbury
office:
- Call 01227 862142
- Email
housing.services@canterbury.gov.uk
Dover
office:
Shepway office:
- Call us on 01303 853731
- Email rent.help@shepway.gov.uk
Thanet
office:
- For Margate, Westgate, Broadstairs and Birchington call Jodie
on 01843 577313
- For Ramsgate, Minster, Monkton and St Nicholas call Adrian on
01843 577350
Lavinia Asquith, Income
Recovery Manager, who spearheaded the partnership with the Money
Advice Service, said: “When times are tough financially it’s very
easy for people to ignore their debt problems. We want to get
to the heart of the issue with our tenants by offering them simple
and clear independent debt advice through the Money Advice
Service.
By working with an
independent company, our tenants can speak in confidence about any
debt problems they are having and receive practical help that will
make a difference in their lives. Christmas is often a time of year
when the pressure of bills and buying presents can see people
taking on even more debt. We have launched this service
at this time of year as we want our tenants to be able to start the
New Year with a sense of hope and this could be a New Year’s
resolution that will really mean something to them.”
Julie, a tenant who attended
one of the pilot Money Advice Service sessions, said: “I found the
session very thorough, with lots of helpful advice given in areas
that I had never thought about making a change to. I will
definitely be taking the advice given and I’m hopeful that with
some small changes, my debt situation will improve.”
Nana, from The Money Advice Session,
said: “While many of us are getting better at talking about other
personal issues like relationships or our health, as a nation we
still tend to find money a taboo topic. We’ve found that 1 in 4
people won’t talk about their money issues because they say they
don’t feel confident enough. We’ve also found that
women are slightly more reluctant to talk about money than men,
which may be related to confidence and the fact they find talking
about money stressful. We’ve worked with East Kent Housing to set
up these confidential face to face meetings that enable their
tenants to discuss the delicate subject of their money matters with
us. From debt advice, help with arrangement repayment, to
helping with insurance and how to budget to make the most of the
money they have – our help is free, non-judgemental and
practical. I would really encourage anyone who needs our help
to get in touch and come along to one of our
sessions."
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