Information-sharing event‘Advice in a Time of Austerity’
Monday 24th November 2014
10am - 1pm
Development and Training Centre, Seedfield Site, Bury BL9 6NY
This event is for staff who may come in contact with people who have advice needs whether they be in not-for-profit organisations or public/private sector. It aims to:
- offer rights information on some current problems that people may be talking to you about
- explain the free welfare rights advice services provided by 8 local charities
- invite interest in co-operative working, to help meet local needs
Programme
10.00 5 min ‘speed intros’ to services offered by partners involved in Bury Community Advice Network
10.45time to gather or exchange information and offer feedback
(coffee available)
11.30 Problems you might be hearing about & some ways to help
- presentations with Q & A:
‘Welfare reforms: sanctions, appeals and Universal Credit’
- Bury District CAB
‘Responding to housing problems in Bury, linked to austerity’
- Bury Law Centre
‘Disabled, bewildering changes, service provider not listening
- so what?’ - Bury Coalition for Independent Living
12.30lunch (provided)
What is Bury Community Advice Network (BCAN)?
BCAN currently consists of 8 local charities who are developing ways of partnership working, with support from the Big Lottery / Home Office Advice Services Transition Fund (see Project outline attached)
BCAN’s shared aim is to help people in Bury by providing free advice, help & support on social welfare rights and responsibilities in order to relieve poverty and tackle inequality.
BCAN Event Booking Form
Name of event / Advice in austerity – info sharingEvent location / Seedfield Site, Parkinson St, Bury
Event date / Monday 24th November 2014
Event times / 10am – 1pm
Name
Name of organisation
Position/Role
Contact address
Contact phone no
Email address
Preferred contact details
Any special access requirements
Any special dietary considerations
Please return to:
Bury Community Advice Network (BCAN) Development Project
BCAN consists of 8 charities all of whom offer some information, advice, guidance or support on people’s social welfare rights in Bury. Led by Bury District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), a formal partnership was set up in spring 2013 with:
- Age UK Bury
- Bury Blind Society
- Bury Law Centre
- Bury Coalition for Independent Living
- Bury Asian Women’s Centre
- The Fed
- B3SDA
The Partnership successfully bid to the Big Lottery / Home Office Advice Services Transition Fund (ASTF) for a Project that will run until October 2015. The ASTF is intended to help the not-for-profit advice sector to work together towards greater sustainability in the face of on-going major changes in public funding for front-line advice services.
How might this help the people that your organisation deals with in Bury?
The aim is to make it easier and more reliable for anyone to get the rights advice and further help they need to sort out their own problems – the kind of problems that threaten, or are already, affecting their basic quality of life (rather than just reducing their standard of living)
Over the 2 year period, the Project’s role is to enable the Network to work more closely together with each other and with other organisations that provide help for people in need.
The four outcomes we aim to achieve are:
Co-operation on ways to access funds, share resources or reduce costs to help not-for-profit services to continue in the face of public sector cuts
A Forum to share information and extend co-operative working to a wider Network, so that more people can be reached
A website which brings together in one place an outline of the services provided by the Network – what they are, how to access them and who to contact.
Development of accredited training for volunteers in reception-type roles, to help ensure that people asking for advice anywhere across the Network can be guided to the right place first time
Who to contact?
The Project’s Development Workers are:
Marie 0161 797 1968
David 0161 763 2530