Recession puts strain on Citizens Advice Bureaux

Citizens Advice is calling for new volunteers to get in touch as the recession pushes more people into financial difficulties, putting greater demand on the charity.

Citizens Advice, which relies heavily on volunteers, is asking everyone from young school leavers and students to retired CEOs and back-to-work Mums to get in touch if they are interested in volunteering.

The call is being made during National Volunteers’ Week (1-7th June 2009), an initiative designed to give organisations the opportunity to publicly recognise the work of their volunteers, of which there are around 28 million in the UK. Co-ordinated by Volunteering England, it also aims to raise the awareness of the benefits of giving time, inspiring a new generation of volunteers.

Citizens Advice volunteers perform a range of roles from the charity – including acting as advisers for people struggling with issues such as meeting mortgage payments or securing credit – helping to campaign on social policy issues or sitting on the trustee board. The charity has stressed that the benefits of volunteering are vast , including giving volunteers the opportunity to acquire new skills that could be valuable in an increasingly competitive job market.

Mike, a volunteer with Sedgemoor CAB, said:

“I volunteer with my bureau as an IT coordinator as well as working freelance. I can fit volunteering in with my day to day life as it’s so flexible. Also, I’m enjoying learning new skills that otherwise you’d often have to pay to train for.”

Beth Taylor Dean, Volunteer Specialist at Citizens Advice says:

“Over the last year over 20 thousand volunteers enabled the Citizens Advice service to deal with 5.5 million problems. With the recession biting harder, increased demand on our services means an increased need for volunteers. As every Citizens Advice Bureau is an independent charity, each CAB therefore recruits its own volunteers. To find out more about the volunteering opportunities in your area pop into your local CAB, or visit the Citizens Advice website.”