eden citizen’s advice bureau

Rory has offered to help Eden Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help more people through video-conferencing facilities on new
super-fast broadband connections. Manager Christine McKinlay explained to Rory on Tuesday that the Eden Citizens Advice bureau engaged with almost 1,500 clients last year and advised on almost 4,100 issues, ranging from debt and benefits, to housing, employment and legal issues. Through an outreach programme, the Penrith-based CAB also serves Appleby, Alston and Kirkby Stephen.  She said that they wanted video-conferencing to deepen contact with people in more remote parts of Eden and link them
to other support across the county. Rory as offered to work with CAB to find support and equipment for the project, as part of his campaign to bring Eden the best broadband in Europe.

After an hour-long visit to Eden’s Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) at their Sandgate office in Penrith on Tuesday, Rory said: “I’m so grateful to the staff of the Eden CAB for sharing their time and knowledge with me today, and for highlighting how extremely important the service they provide is. It was a visit of immense value, and I learned a great deal about the common problems facing constituents in Penrith and Eden. It’s so easy to think of our beautiful constituency as being an affluent corner of England, when in
fact there are so many suffering hardships every day, from family breakdowns to serious debt difficulties. The CAB offers a practical,
well-informed and meticulously researched advice service, and I am in particular excited about its innovative approach to installing
video-conferencing facilities linking its advisers to clients in more remote parts of Penrith and the Border. I’d also like to encourage as
many constituents as possible to consider a job volunteering with the organisation; just a few hours a week can make all the difference to someone in real need. The volunteers I met with today clearly find it a really fulfilling job to do, and I am so impressed by their
dedication.”

The Eden Citizens Advice Bureau is at 2 Sandgate in Penrith, and online at www.citizensadvice.org.uk. For more information please call 01768 891 503.

cab

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