A DEBT-advice service set up to alleviate hardship in the parish of Jarrow and Simonside after the Covid pandemic has helped people to manage more than £1 million of debt so far.
Supported by the diocese of Durham and Communities Together Durham — a partnership of churches, charities, and local authorities — the service, Money Advice South Tyneside, is now an independent charity. The South Tyneside community is one of the most deprived in England.
The Rector, the Revd Lesley Jones, arrived in 2020 and noticed how people were struggling financially. “We were organising food and doing everything else we could, but it became clear that the cushion people normally have — if they have any savings at all — had gone, and debts were starting to pile up,” she said this week.
“We set up three projects at once: a network of Places of Welcome; training people to be mental-health first aiders; and the debt project. The latter took on a life of its own. The Lord Crewe charity were really generous to get us moving.” She also praises the national charity Community Money Advice, for the quality of its parish support.
The service is free and confidential, meeting people at drop-ins and working alongside local groups and wider support networks. The project manager, Sam Harrison, said: “Everyone’s circumstances are different. It’s always good to see the relief on people’s faces when we find a way through a financial muddle and work towards them being free from worry and stress.”
Neither did it need to be a case of owing large amounts of money, she said. The impact on mental health of just a small amount could be huge, as seen with one single mother, whose ex-partner had missed a monthly child-support payment which left her unable to pay the rent. “We were able to support her very quickly,” Ms Harrison explained.
“This been wrapped in prayer all the way through, and we still have the cross in our logo,” Mrs Jones said. “I would encourage anyone who may be in a low-income community and wants to put on something practical with partners to give it a try.”