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Helping to make ends meet - new project to provide South East Cornwall residents with skills to manage their own money

20 November 2012

A new project which will offer training to help people in South East Cornwall to manage their own money and provide support to others in their local community will be officially launched at the Torpoint Youth and Children’s Centre on Tuesday, 27 November and Liskeard Children’s Centre on Monday, 3 December.

The aim of the Economic Wellbeing project is to help lessen the risk of rising household debt by providing local people with practical training, mentoring and, where necessary, access to specialist debt advice. The project is being led by East Cornwall CAB Initiative (ECCABI) in partnership with Liskeard and Torpoint Children’s Centres and funded through the East Cornwall Local Action Group, part of the Rural Development Programme for England, with DEFRA as the managing authority, and Cornwall Development Company, the arms length economic development company of Cornwall Council, acting as the accountable body.

“The average household debt in Cornwall is around £15,793 and we know that more and more people are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living“ said John Ede, Project Manager at ECCABI. “The planned changes to benefits, which are coming into effect, are also likely to increase the number of families and households under financial stress”.

“We need to identify these households as early as possible and help improve their quality of life by giving them the skills and ability to manage their budgets and debts.  This will, in turn, help to improve the local economy by reducing the amount of money paid on interest payments on non priority debts”.

The pilot project will offer a range of courses aimed at giving people the knowledge, skills, ability and confidence to manage their money.  It will also provide training for a number of mentors who will provide additional support to families and individuals in the Liskeard and Torpoint areas.

As the Local Action Group is nearing the end of its funding programme, it is keen to leave a long term legacy.  This pilot project offers the opportunity to improve the local economy by reducing the outflow of money in interest payments on non-priority debts, as well as improving the quality of life in the local areas.

The training will include:

·         money management and support to enable households to understand the debt process so that they are able to deal with priority and non-priority debts and know how to negotiate with their creditors.

·         creating and maintaining a realistic budget which includes comparing a budget with actual spend, knowing what action to take to balance the budget and updating their budget when circumstances change.

·         Energy Best Deal training to use the internet to identify the most competitive energy supplier, as an introduction to IT and the internet.

·         Accessing independent sites on the internet for information. Template letters for creditors, Payment Protection Insurance claims and CV s

·         mentoring training for participants to provide on-going support to other households in the community after the pilot has ended.

Supporters of the project include Cornwall Council, Torpoint and Rame Youth Project, Cornwall Councillor Mike Pearn, Parent Support Advisors Network, Cornwall Housing, the Council’s Community Network Managers for Cornwall Gateway, Liskeard and Looe, Liskeard School and Community College, Torpoint Community College, Millbrook CEVA Primary School, the Supporting Families Locality Network and Supporting Children & Families (The Hambly Centre).

Following the initial launch of the project at the Torpoint Children’s Centre between 9.30 am and 11.30 am on 27 November, the second launch event will be held in Liskeard Children’s Centre between 3pm and 5pm on 3 December.

Further information is available from Torpoint Children’s Centre on 01752 816569 or Liskeard Children’s Centre on 01579 349157.