Advice

DEBT AND MONEY \\ HOUSING

ENERGY EFFICIENCY \\ EMPLOYMENT

HEALTH AND WELLBEING \\ CAREERS

BUDGETING \\CV WRITING \\

We're there to help, support and advise

On the day, at the Galleries Blue Monday event you will find lots of organisations have a stall or information point to help you access the support that you need. There will be five advice themes; Debt and Money, Employment and Training, Energy and Water, Housing and Health and Wellbeing.

Below are the partner organisations for each theme and some of the organisations that will be there on the day.

Prince's Trust

The National Careers Service offer a free service accessible to all adults in England. At the National Careers Service, we believe in supporting people from all walks of life, improving the life chances of everyone regardless of their abilities. We are supporting Blue Monday because we recognise that everyone has the potential to achieve their career goals and it is our aim to help as many people as possible to get there.

Anyone coming to Blue Monday can speak to one of our friendly, qualified careers advisers who can help you to understand the job market, create or develop CV's and interview skills, whilst also letting you know about the various training courses available. We provide personalised information and guidance, that’s why we offer telephone appointments and face to face meetings in the community. It is this tailored advice that we believe to be key in effectively helping people to develop their existing skills and finding education or training courses that will help them secure their ideal job role.

Wessex Water

WHAM

Ways 2 Work

West of England Centre for Inclusive Living

DEBT AND MONEY

We at The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) have a dedicated advice team to support people who may be struggling with cold homes and, or high fuel bills. We give free and impartial advice to householders across Bristol and surrounding area, and have a free phone line staffed Mon to Fri 9am – 5pm: 0800 082 2234. In some cases we are able to offer a home visit and are regularly present at events offering advice face to face across the area.

The advice we can give ranges from ‘how to reduce damp and condensation’ to ‘how to use my night storage heater controls’ and much more. Factsheets and demonstrative films can be found on our website: www.cse.org.uk/loveyourhome

Our aim is that every older person in the city is an equal, valued, participating member of the community who can influence the decisions which affect their lives

All older people living in Bristol should:
• be happy with their quality of life
• have the goods and services they require
• be treated equally
• be listened to by decision makers
• not feel isolated
• have the opportunity to participate in the community

We are proud to be member–led. Membership is free to anyone in Bristol aged 55 or over. Members attend meetings and receive newsletters, and many become active volunteers working to raise awareness and influence decision makers. It’s about having a voice!

At Shelter's Hub in Bristol we offer a wide range of help and advice on all housing and homelessness issues. We have a team of advisers and solicitors who may be able to help you with your problem and we work with other agencies if we can’t help.

We have computers and telephones to enable you to log on to get advice, access benefits or bid on properties.

Issues we can deal with:

Homeless or worried you will soon become homeless
Looking for accommodation
Having problems with your landlord
Being evicted or repossessed
Debt problems
Benefits issues
Problems with disrepair
Need help going to court in terms of your housing

Even if your problem isn’t listed above we may still be able to help – just give us a call to discuss. We are open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm and can be contacted on 0344 515 1430. Alternatively, come and visit us at New Bond House, Bond Street, Bristol, BS2 9AG

The Bristol and Avon Chinese Women’s Group supports the health and social care needs of Chinese women and their families in the South West. It has been helping the Chinese community since 1989, as well as providing a social hub for educational and other activities.

The Chinese Lantern Helpline (0808 802 0012) is the first place for members of the Chinese community in the South West to call. It is a free and confidential telephone line that offers assistance with a wide range of issues. Face to face meetings are also held in cities across the region.

More complex problems are dealt with by the Oriental Bridge Project. This gives face-to-face support on issues such as benefits, immigration, employment and housing. Appointments are usually at the Vassall Centre, Fishponds, Bristol.

Our Care Support Service has a team of workers able to support community members in and/or outside their homes. They provide a range of services from simple housework through to cooking etc. They are also able to deal with the more complex needs of those who are ill, frail, disabled or old, helping them to remain independent.

Bristol Samaritans provide confidential emotional support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to those in distress who need for a safe place to talk. Our callers can contact us by telephone 116123 (Free to call), email, text, or by visiting our Branch, 37 St Nicholas Street Bristol BS1 1TP

We also provide talks for community groups, schools, colleges and other organisations interested in our work.

Wheels to Work, delivered by Travelwest, is a scheme improving access to employment and training opportunities through the use of sustainable travel. Wheels to Work in Bristol provides those eligible with free bus travel, free bike loans or discounts on purchasing a refurbished bike, and even offers travel training to improve confidence in using any of these offers. This includes offering free personal route planning, accompanied cycle rides, accompanied bus rides and adult cycle training. To be eligible for the scheme you must be either; unemployed and looking for work, earning less than the living wage, or be due to start a new job or training. Stop to chat to our roadshow team to find out more about our offers and eligibility requirements, or to ask advice on travelling sustainably around Bristol. Last year our roadshow team engaged with 70 people at the Blue Monday event, providing advice on travelling within Bristol and how to access to our offers.

Knightstone Housing is a leading housing association in Somerset and the West of England, committed to building vibrant, stable and safe communities where people can make their homes. We provide services to over 23,000 people in 11,000 homes, and build around 300 homes a year.

We understand that houses are purely buildings with ambition, they want to be homes and for that to happen they must have life breathed into them. Home is at the very heart of what we do. Put simply - we house people, people make homes. People also bring with them the potential for community, but communities must be nurtured, allowed to grow and shape themselves.

Our role goes beyond housing, we actively empower residents. We bring people together in shared spaces and have a responsibility to care for the communities we create and also offer support to tenants that find themselves in difficulty. The Tenancy Sustainment Team is a support service for our residents. We offer support tailored to meet our customers’ needs and their situation. There are a multitude of things we can support with, which might include some of the following:

budgeting advice
support with understanding and claiming benefits including Universal Credit
support with appeals & tribunals
advice and support around managing and maintaining your tenancy
maximising income entitlement
advice and support around how to move
support with finding employment, training or education
applying for grants
support to access specialist services such as Social Services, Occupational Therapists, GP’s, Debt Advise

We work closely with other departments within Knightstone and alongside them are able to offer support with any issues our tenants may be finding difficult to manage alone.

Bristol Libraries have 27 branches across the city, which you can access for free. While best known as places to find books for all ages and tastes, libraries also offer free computer use, children’s activities, events, and a wide range of activities from Jobs Clubs to Comics Clubs, Knit & Natter to IT Support and beyond. Libraries are gateways to communities and public services. They are social hubs for education, culture and health, and above all they are yours. www.bristol.gov.uk/libraries

CHAS (Bristol) is a registered charity that provides free, independent and confidential advice on housing and related matters. We help families and single people, young and old, across Bristol.

We advise on issues such as homelessness and the threat of homelessness, housing benefit, universal credit housing costs, rent arrears, landlord & tenant problems, private renting, repossession action by landlords and security of tenure.

We also advise people in relation to applications for social housing and supported accommodation as well as issues such as overcrowding, poor housing conditions & disrepair and housing issues caused by relationship breakdown, domestic abuse, racial and other types of harassment.

Our main focus is helping people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, or living in unsuitable / unsafe accommodation and in need of re-housing. We prioritise those who are most vulnerable or who have had difficulty accessing other advice services.

Our Advice Workers endeavour to work with people until the situation is resolved. If CHAS (Bristol) is unable to resolve a particular issue for someone, we will help them to access a service that can help.

We operate our service by telephone, email, home visits and outreach appointments in central Bristol. We take requests for advice, and referrals, by telephone and email:

0117 935 1260 advice@chasbristol.co.uk www.chasbristol.co.uk

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a debt counselling charity with a mission to free people from the miserable grip of UK poverty. Our free face-to-face debt help service offers a unique combination of practical and emotional support, with more than 2,500 families becoming debt free every year.

We’re also committed to tackling the causes of debt and poverty through our group services. CAP Job Clubs help the unemployed find the skills and confidence to step back into work, CAP Release Groups help people break free from life-controlling dependencies, and CAP Life Skills teach members new ways to live for a brighter future. Plus, we’re the top adult face-to-face money education provider in the UK thanks to the CAP Money Course.

Working in partnership with local churches, CAP has centres in the heart of communities all over the UK. Each has a team of dedicated staff and volunteers committed to bringing freedom, light and hope to people’s lives.

CAP’s services are open to everyone, regardless of age, gender, faith and background. Find out more at capuk.org.

Christians Against Poverty. Always through the Church. Always hope.

Bristol Mind aims to promote a positive view of mental health and provide services that are accessible, relevant and empowering to the people using them. Our services aim to contribute to mental and emotional wellbeing and to reduce stigma and discrimination.

Our services:

MindLine: Wednesday to Sunday 8pm – midnight. 0808 808 0330.
MindLine Trans+: Monday and Friday 8pm to midnight. 0300 330 5468.
Meeting Minds Counselling Service
Outreach Advocacy
Specialist Advocacy Services
Hate Crime Service
Minds Without Borders – Working in the Community
Training
Signposting and Information

We also have volunteering opportunities available for our advocacy, MindLine and MindLine Trans+ and information and signposting services.

Information about each service can be found on our website www.bristolmind.org.uk

Bristol Credit Union is dedicated to helping local people save and borrow at fair rates. Membership is open to anyone who lives and/or works in Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset, or South Gloucestershire. Once you are a member you’ll get access to a wide range of products, including a free savings account; we also offer a Christmas saver, Cash ISA, and a children’s savings account. We’re also able to lend as little as £100 at more affordable rates than payday loans and other high-cost credit, with fixed interest rates that do not depend on your credit history.

Come along and see us at the Blue Monday event and find out more about what we offer, including advice on how to set up a Christmas Saver to help you prepare for next Christmas! We’ll be giving away money boxes to give your savings a head start, as well as free membership to Bristol Credit Union – a saving of £2.50.

The team at St Pauls Advice Centre provide free, confidential advice to the residents of St Pauls and East Bristol. We offer specialist information and advice services relating to debt and money, welfare benefits and immigration issues. We also advise on a range of employment, housing, consumer, discrimination, domestic violence and community care issues. Our small, independent charity improves lives and communities with the provision of high quality, independent advice that is trusted, in an environment where people feel welcome.

Bristol Energy is a national gas and electricity company set up to give people a fairer deal on their energy bills. We’re owned by Bristol City Council and will reinvest our profits back into the city of Bristol. So you get a better deal, and the city benefits too. We’re passionate about tackling fuel poverty, and are working hard to encourage people who haven’t switched to join us, and save around £200 a year. You can switch in minutes by visiting www.bristol-energy.co.uk or call free on

0808 281 2222

We’re Himilo Training, the training arm of Ashley Community Housing.

We run short, vocational training courses aimed at increasing skills and job prospects, delivering accredited and non-accredited training provision, careers advice and guidance to the local community. We work with learners and employers to create and deliver life-changing opportunities, remove barriers and supply outstanding teaching, learning and assessment activities.

At the Blue Monday event we’ll be promoting what we do and signing people up to our courses. We’re also interested in finding out about any training courses the community want that we are not currently offering – come along and complete one of our “tell us more” postcards.

Ways2Work is the Bristol City Council team to help people into or back into work. We run a network of organisations working in the ‘Back-to-Work’ sector in Bristol and the West of England and help to link them together to make one website where anyone looking for work can get help to find a job, a better job or a career.

We link employers, the back-to-work sector and people seeking work together by email, through our website www.ways2work.org.uk and via social media.

We work together with others to produce a series of job fairs and advice days over the year. Job fairs are a good way to meet with and talk to an employer before the application stage – and less scary too!