A year on from the first lockdown


How Citizens Advice SORT Group has supported thousands of clients across Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford.

March 23rd marked a year since the first lockdown began, and a year since the Citizens Advice SORT Group, covering Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford moved to remote working - with 80 staff and 77 volunteers working from their living rooms, dining tables and kitchens to make sure people could still access much-needed help.

Like many other organisations, Citizens Advice SORT Group saw a considerable increase in demand when the pandemic hit.

Chris, an adviser at Citizens Advice SORT Group said:

“We spoke to residents who’d never used Citizens Advice before, never claimed benefits before, and had had a steady income for years, if not decades. Suddenly, people felt as if the rug was pulled from under them and they didn’t know what to do.”

In the past year, the group has supported a record number of clients over the phone, some 45,000 - that’s a 41% increase on the previous year.

They also saw a 64% increase in the number of people supported through web chat.

To make it as easy as possible for people to access advice in their homes, short advice videos were recorded and shared widely across social media, and in Facebook community groups.


Citizens Advice SORT Group supported people with a wide range of issues, helping a family who were about to be made homeless after the parent lost their job, advising someone who was denied furlough despite being told to shield, and organising an emergency food parcel and ongoing support for an elderly person who was unable to get enough food.

“Citizens Advice helped me when I was about to be made homeless. I was out of work due to the pandemic and found myself in a desperate situation with no money to support my children.

As an EU National with pre-settled status, I was refused Universal Credit.

Citizens Advice helped me to complete a mandatory reconsideration and appeal. They also put me in contact with social services and my local authority for support. Both appeals failed, but Citizens Advice continued to support me, encouraging me to seek new employment to access benefits.

In time, I was able to secure a new job. The team helped me to apply for Universal Credit again and to access Local Authority housing. I was awarded Universal Credit and remain in employment today. We now have our own home. I’m so thankful for everything Citizens Advice has done for us.”

Lena-  a Rochdale resident


What comes next?

As the country continues to move forward in a “new normal” environment, for tens of thousands of people, their problems might be only just beginning as they struggle with the knock-on effects of the pandemic - especially as the support measures put in place by the government start to be withdrawn.

Read our latest blog to learn more about the areas we expect to see clients needing advice with over the coming months.

In these, still, uncertain times, one thing is clear; our communities and residents will continue to need advice and support to overcome their problems, and their local Citizens Advice service will remain accessible to provide independent and trusted advice to help them find a way forward.

-Ends

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Hayley Wright