Hope Central opened a Debt Centre in conjunction with national charity, Christians Against Poverty, in 2021 in the North-East Cheshire area. Since then, we have been busy with bookings helping people in SK9 and WA16 postcode areas, with sometimes up to a 3 month waiting list. We have helped 25 people go completely debt-free and we have just expanded to take on new staff members to respond to the rapidly growing need. We want to be able to give clients the support at the point they ask for it. 

This work is so vital. The majority of those who interact with our Debt Centre struggle with their mental health and recent CAP research shows that 46% of clients have considered or attempted suicide as a way out of debt before seeking help. This is a heartbreaking statistic but each of those is a life of someone precious. We want to help these people and bring them onto a journey where they feel empowered to manage for themselves and flourish again.

We have seen this with our debt free clients saying how different they feel knowing they are debt free. One of our debt free clients put it like this:

"I have a big smile on my face.[...] When I look back, if it wasn't for you [the debt coach and befriender] I would be in the same situation now and may not even be here.  So I am so grateful."

This money raised will go towards  our running and staff costs to keep the Debt Centre open for another year. We want to know that this important and life-saving work can continue for the long-term.