OXFORD CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

This funding will be used to work in partnership with local food banks and community larders to provide information and advice to people and families experiencing a financial crisis. The project aims to support people through the cost of living ....more

This funding will be used to work in partnership with local food banks and community larders to provide information and advice to people and families experiencing a financial crisis. The project aims to support people through the cost of living crisis by offering essential provisions.

The funding will be used to run a training programme for their staff and volunteers. The project aims to better equip their advice team to give free support to the community on issues such as housing benefits and debt.

We will extend our volunteer recruitment and training programme to train additional volunteers so that we can assist Oxford residents in crisis with timely advice. With funding of £7107 from COMF and £7707 from Friends we will be able to train an ....more

We will extend our volunteer recruitment and training programme to train additional volunteers so that we can assist Oxford residents in crisis with timely advice. With funding of £7107 from COMF and £7707 from Friends we will be able to train an additional 12 volunteers. Our volunteer team needs re-building and we plan to increase volunteer number by 50% over the next 2-3 years. to return to pre-pandemic capacity. During the pandemic some experienced volunteers left us and recruitment was more limited. With a mix of home working, face to face advice and similar mix of training/support planned volunteering with Citizens Advice Oxford is more attractive. The grant will pay for our volunteers extensive 20 week training programme. This is run in house by our trainer who is an experienced Citizens Advice trainer/supervisor, supported by our Officer Manager and volunteer recruitment assistant. Our trainer meets with new recruits regularly, runs training sessions and gives one to one feedback. Training includes the trainee volunteer working alongside experienced volunteer advisers. Volunteers start as Advice Assistants assisting experienced advisors with client work and then move on to generalist advice training. The COMF grant will cover 3.5 hours per week of the Office Manager time and 14 trainer hours needed over 6 months. It will also cover room hire costs. It costs more than £1,600 to train and support each volunteer advisers through their initial training; if we train in groups of 10 or more. (Some of the costs such as IT support and management time we have secured within our core planned expenditure). Our Friends group has raised funds to cover the remaining outstanding costs as set out in the budget section. Once trained volunteers help an average of 6 clients a week - this grant will leave a legacy of advisers.

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public ....more

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public services.2) To ensure essential services are provided to vulnerable people, both in the short and long term through increased community support through the work of charitable organisations."

COVID19 : purchase IT equipment for a charity working with disadvantaged and marginalised groups in Oxfordshire

towards three years' running costs for a project providing debt and benefits advice to low income and vulnerable people in Oxford

Advice & support - respond to the unprecedented increase in demand; ensure vulnerable people are not left behind

Our average waiting time to see an adviser is 48 minute, 21% wait more than an hour and only 20% of telephone advice calls are answered by us. This is stressful for clients, staff and volunteers, and due to a dramatic increase in complexity of ....more

Our average waiting time to see an adviser is 48 minute, 21% wait more than an hour and only 20% of telephone advice calls are answered by us. This is stressful for clients, staff and volunteers, and due to a dramatic increase in complexity of issues is resulting in people delaying seeking advice until they are at crisis point. We want to change the way we work so that; - more people are helped, faster - we are better able to respond to peaks and troughs in demand - we need less space for the same/better level of service

Securing rights, changing lives

Funding awarded for core costs to deliver welfare advice

Funding awarded for core costs to deliver welfare advice

Extend the provision of debt caseworkers to reduce waiting times from 3-4 week to less than two weeks and for all debt clients to have the opportunity to improve their financial capability/skills.

Retain and expand our pro bono legal advice service.

Located in the centre of Oxford, the citizens advice bureau offers self help and assisted information. A free confidential advice service including signposting, generalist and specialist casework for client’s city wide. Funding was awarded to ....more

Located in the centre of Oxford, the citizens advice bureau offers self help and assisted information. A free confidential advice service including signposting, generalist and specialist casework for client’s city wide. Funding was awarded to contribute towards their core costs to delivery this service.

A new project to support people currently in hardship crisis, or at risk, primarily through the issues of housing, homelessness, physical and mental health, debt and unemployment by providing an effective service of advocacy and advice in order to ....more

A new project to support people currently in hardship crisis, or at risk, primarily through the issues of housing, homelessness, physical and mental health, debt and unemployment by providing an effective service of advocacy and advice in order to alleviate the impact of disadvantage. Following stabilisation an individual tailored package of support to enable them to be more resilient and identify the issues that underpin the crisis such as debt, health and wellbeing issues and homelessness.

The aim of this new project is to provide an integrated network of advice agencies in the Oxford area. It will also aim to improve the understanding of customer needs and develop methods of early intervention to help clients to help themselves, ....more

The aim of this new project is to provide an integrated network of advice agencies in the Oxford area. It will also aim to improve the understanding of customer needs and develop methods of early intervention to help clients to help themselves, removing some of the repeat demand to advice services. The project will cover the local authority area of Oxford. It will be led by Oxford Citizens Advice Bureau.

salaries core costs and volunteer costs related to providing an outreach and referral service for older people