H&F Citizens Advice Bureau Celebrates 80th Birthday

---

Service based at Avonmore Library helped 12,000 people in last year

The Citizens Advice Bureau for Hammersmith & Fulham has celebrated its 80th anniversary at its current home, Avonmore Library in North End Crescent.

When it began in 1939, the bureau operated from a horse box. With a budget of £25, it assisted 878 people in its first year.

In the past year, Citizens Advice helped 12,000 people supported by a budget of more than £1million.

The anniversary was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, pictured above, with H&F Mayor Cllr Daryl Brown also declaring the new-look children’s library area open, following a £6,000 refurbishment.

Schoolchildren with Citizens Advice HF's Simi Ryatt and Mayor Daryl Brown

There was also a tree-planting near the entrance, with local schoolchildren burying 'wishes' scribbled on little bits of paper under the roots of a silver birch, replacing an old cherry tree which blew down in a storm.

"The top four issues we deal with are benefits, debt, housing and employment, consistently and in that order," said Citizens Advice H&F chief executive Simi Ryatt. "We’re here to help anyone with free, confidential, impartial and independent advice.

"Our workload is greater today," she said. "20 years ago, a client might have had one issue. Now we find we have to unpick four or five issues."

She also said that mental health was an increasing factor, with the service assisting more vulnerable people with complex needs.

Simi paid tribute to the support Citizens Advice receives from H&F Council. " We’re extremely fortunate that the council has given us a ten year funding contract, as we can use that to build other funding."

She said that for every £1 invested in Citizens Advice, the service delivered £10 in wider social benefits to the public.

Joining her for the birthday celebration was Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for the Environment, who also serves as a trustee for the Citizens Advice Bureau.

"It’s an essential service," he said. "People have rights, and you need Citizens Advice to enforce them – not everyone is rich enough to be able to afford lawyers. We believe in fairness for all, and the service is critical in helping people get access to their rights, in these difficult times."

Citizens Advice in H&F runs a dozen targeted projects (from homelessness prevention to debt counselling), funded by outside donors. The centre’s 115 active volunteers receive training, but so successful is it that half go on to take up full-time jobs - necessitating further recruitment.

Among the centre's most valued services are the tech talk project, combining coffee, cake and demystifying digital coaching; and 'tech mates', the one-to-one computer assistance which helps clients set-up email, do online banking and apply for universal credit.

You can find the full programme and how you could become involved here.

Simi Ryatt, Cllr Daryl Brown, and Tony Salem, chair of the Citizens Advice Bureau trustees

October 8, 2019