Rugby Debt Centre celebrates 15 years of helping to free local people from debt

A FREE local debt advice service is celebrating 15 years of helping people and their families in Rugby to sort out their finances.

Revive Churches Together commissioned the Debt Centre in partnership with UK debt and budgeting help charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) in 2009.

During the past 15 years, CAP Rugby’s Debt Centre has helped many local families with their finances and so far, 79 people have gone debt free! This support has helped restore hope, save family relationships, improve people’s mental wellbeing and brought a brighter future to many local lives.

To celebrate their 15th anniversary, CAP Rugby team and supporters gathered at the Shine A Light charity in Rugby Central, along with local partner agencies and community representatives.

The celebration on Friday, October 25, was held on Debt Relief Day – a local fundraiser where participants were “wearing briefs for debt relief” to raise much needed funds for the expansion of their services.

Cllr Simon Ward, Mayor of Rugby, enjoyed a ‘brief encounter’ with these volunteers and said: “It was great to meet CAP team members and hear about the important work they do. The message is simple and so important - if you find yourself in debt there’s no shame, plus there is support and advice available for you. The CAP team in Rugby are very passionate about this!”

Rugby Debt Centre Manager, Karen Swaffield shared: “We are really excited to celebrate our 15-year anniversary and all the households who are now debt free. Our debt centre was launched by Revive Churches Together in October 2009, and since that time we have been able to offer free debt help to almost 400 people, as well as money coaching courses which empowers people to take control of their money and develop budgeting skills for life.

“We take a holistic approach, offering clients face-to-face appointments in the comfort of their homes. With the support of our Befriending team, we can help clients with various practical and emotional needs too. We also organise community events for clients and their families to provide fun and friendship along the way.

“This kind of support does take time, but we have seen more than 120 people complete their appointments, and 79 people have gone debt free so far, with a total of £1.32M of debt repaid/written off. We couldn’t have done this without being tremendously supported on our journey by such amazing volunteers from local churches.”

To raise awareness of what they do and to bring in vital funds, Rugby Debt Centre team and volunteers wore CAP logo briefs on their head for a whole day, in their places of work and around the town centre. They carried the message that, “Some things are embarrassing. Getting help with your debts isn’t one of them.”

The 17 participants, from across six churches in Rugby, have now managed to raise over £10,000 towards funding an additional Debt Coach, with thanks to their generous supporters. The unusual headgear provoked confusion from some onlookers, but more importantly it also sparked conversations about debt and opportunities for local people to hear about the free help that’s available.

Karen continued: “We’re raising money to expand our services, with the hope of being able to offer more support for local people. We’re delighted to have been awarded one year’s funding from WCC counsellors for a new Debt Coach, which is fantastic, but we needed more help to meet our fundraising target of £15k.

“Over the years, we’ve seen the need for free debt help grow in Rugby and we want to be able to help as many people as we possibly can. All of our services are offered completely free of charge, thanks to funding by so many generous local people and churches across our community.”

A recent CAP client who became debt free said, before getting CAP’s help: “I felt sick and nauseous with worry. I would leave home for the school run in the morning and then stay away all day until returning with the kids, for fear of the bailiffs coming. I had to keep my doors locked, and my head down.

“I wouldn’t answer the phone and was getting bombarded by text messages and emails, and even when I tried to respond to the creditors they wouldn’t listen. I was at my wits end. I was trapped in a corner and realised it was time to face my situation. It was probably the hardest step. Before I came to CAP for help, life felt stressful and trapped; now it’s freedom. There’s no hiding anymore!”

If you’re interested in finding out more about how you can directly support your local CAP centre, visit https://www.becchurch.org.uk/cap-rugby or contact Karen Swaffield at [email protected].

If you are living with unmanageable debt call CAP’s helpline on 0800 328 0006 for free debt help.