Citizens Advice to offer outreach service to Littlehampton communities
Littlehampton’s Citizens Advice service is to become more community-based in order to reach out to those who need it most.
The service is set to modernise by moving out of the current office in Anchor Springs in October to instead deliver help and support within the community.
Through trialling an outreach service, Citizens Advice became aware that many people only sought the service when it was delivered in the community, and would not have otherwise engaged with it.
Confidential information and advice will be given from various outreaches in the town, including the library, Amber House, Foodbank, Jobcentre + and other community centres to make the service as accessible as possible.
Many Citizens Advice clients now use the service by telephone, webchats and emails and this digital service will be run from Dove Lodge in Littlehampton.
Working with Arun District Council and other local organisations, Citizens Advice will ensure that a face-to-face service is much more accessible to all Arun residents.
Luca Badioli, CEO at Arun and Chichester Citizens Advice, said: "Changing the way we currently deliver our services will allow us to better reach the most vulnerable and be more accessible to all of the residents within this community."
Councillor Gill Yeates, Arun District Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing, said: “Citizens Advice is a network of independent charities which assist thousands of people each year on issues such as money difficulties, legal problems and consumer queries.
“We see this as a very positive move in Arun which will ensure that this important service reaches the people who will benefit from it the most.”