Colchester debt support, life skills and job club

Aim

To help more individuals and families in the Colchester area to get out of unmanageable debt and in control of their finances.

What we do:

Colchester CAP Debt Centre seeks to release people from the prison of poverty and debt. We work with anyone - regardless of religion, race, gender, sexual orientation or age - who needs our help with unmanageable debt and to get in control of their finances. We are a team of different local churches working together across the city of Colchester, in partnership with national charity Christians Against Poverty, to provide a range of different services.  Established in 2013, we now offer:

• CAP Debt Help

A holistic service in situations of unmanageable debt. CAP step in between a client and their creditors, taking a detailed picture of their finances and providing them with a budget as well as a solution to become debt free.

• CAP Life Skills

Friendly groups designed to help people live well on a low budget, sharing tips and practical skills and discovering new ways to live for a brighter future.

• CAP Money 

A simple cash-based system that works. Helping people to get to grips with their finances so they can budget, save and prevent debt.

• CAP Job Club (coming soon!)

 Practical help and support to gain the skills and tools needed to find work. 

We rely on a great team of volunteers to help run life skills groups, to offer practical help, raise money and run events, but also to support our debt coaches. Our befrienders, who accompany debt coaches on their visits, but then support our clients all the way through the process until they are debt-free. This ongoing, personal support is a crucial part of why we are able to have such a positive impact on peoples lives.

"Befriending ...what a honour... the most incredible thing has been witnessing the positive change that happens in their lives in such a short space of time. It's such an honour to be invited into someone’s home, to speak life and hope into their situation...The work CAP is doing is incredible and much needed..."

Our impact so far: 

• Since we started in 2013, 180 households have gone debt free, and we currently have 82 households that we are working with
• 43 people have found work - that we know of! This figure should rise significantly once the Job Club starts up in the coming months
• Since we launched Life Skills in 2019, we have run 8 groups in person. and one online, helping around 40 people gain new skills and boost their confidence 

“When I was doing the Life Skills courses, I felt welcomed…It was an amazing eye opener to life and really helped me be a bit more independent. The people running the courses were very friendly and helped me understand the world better. Without this course, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now.”

The challenges, and how you can help us meet them:

• Demand for our services has grown year on year since we started, and the rate of increase has gone up hugely in the last 2 years. The recent rise in fuel and food prices, and rising interest rates, will only add to this.
• To meet this challenge we have recruited and trained more staff and volunteers, but we would like to build our capacity further
• Many organisations and agencies are facing financial pressures: we have lost a significant source of regular grant funding, so this fundraising effort is vital
• Our running costs, while very low - have also increased - at a time when income has been squeezed

Any money we raise here will allow us to help more people in Colchester. It will allow us to do even more to tackle to cost of living crisis by:

• seeing more debt clients, and supporting them until they are debt free 
• offering more practical support, including help with food and fuel costs, while people work to pay off their debt
• running more Life Skills groups in accessible venues across the town, and providing generous hospitality 
• training more volunteers
• equipping, promoting and running a Job Club

Thank you for supporting Colchester CAP Debt Centre!

This project successfully funded on 11th January 2023