This in from Sandra at Isle of Wight branch of national debt counselling charity, Christians Against Poverty (CAP). Ed
Yesterday, the second Monday in February was expected to bring about one of the busiest days ever for growing debt counselling charity Christians Against Poverty.
Already in 2014, staff have seen calls for debt help from across the UK soar by 69 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Now the organisation wants people to know that while some centres are getting booked to capacity, appointments for the free and award-winning service are still available at the local Isle of Wight and Southsea branch.
Centre Manager Sandra Snell said:
“We’re keen to hear from people who are struggling to pay the bills or feed their families. We want to hear from people who have lost track of their debts and are suffering sleepless nights. Our service is ideally placed for them.”
Appointments are available
The start of the year brings a flurry of calls from people who typically have problems which have spiralled over many months and years.
Six in ten people are worried about losing their homes, a quarter are regularly missing meals, says the charity.
Sandra continues,
“It’s not just a bit of overspending at Christmas. They tend to call in January and February because they can’t face doing so in the days leading up to the festivities and they prefer to sort things when the children are at school.”
Statistics show that Monday is the most popular day of the week to call for debt help and mid February sees an annual peak in calls.
Sandra, based at Kings Church, added:
“People tell us that calling for help with something as personal as finances is the hardest thing to do. They are surprised and relieved to find that we don’t judge them. Our job is to find a positive way forward.”
For more info visit the Website or call 0800 328 0006.
Image: Robert Scoble under CC BY 2.0
