Postiwyd Gan CBSA on Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Project officer Adam Golten explains how Shelter Cymru’s project is helping people in work with debt and housing problems.
Work it Out! began in April 2010 with the aim of preventing homelessness through providing information and early accessible advice on housing, debt and other related issues to people in work. Now, thanks to continued funding from the Welsh Government it has been extended for a further six months.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that people in employment often wrongly believed that they were not eligible to access free advice services, yet the economic situation, which left many people facing the threat of redundancy or reduced working hours, meant that early intervention and advice had never been so important.
The project is unique in Wales in that it actively targets people in work through their unions, trade bodies or their companies’ health and well-being strategies.
Our comprehensive Advice Online service has been embedded into company intranet sites and the websites of umbrella organisations, as well as being promoted through workplace drop-in sessions.
As a result of Work It Out! we have made valuable new contacts with a range of different organisations and gained greater recognition for our services within the business community in Wales.
Most importantly we have been able to provide timely, helpful early advice on homelessness issues to people and groups that might not otherwise have known about the help available to them.
Now that we’ve had the green light to continue with the project, the next phase will be to attract more organisations in both the public and private sectors in Wales to partner with us in providing housing and debt advice to employees and members in these difficult financial times.
For more information please email Adam at adamg@sheltercymru.org.uk