Sheffield church sets up service to help people cope with debt

Members of Rock Christian Centre in Spital Hill, Burngreave decided they wanted to better serve people living with the pressure of debt and got in touch with UK debt counselling charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP).

After a lot of fundraising, they plan to offer the new, free service from late January.

Senior Pastor Jon Watts said: “Debt stress can be so destructive. It affects family relationships, health and can be very isolating.

“As a compassionate community, we wanted to provide people with a route out of debt and CAP is distinct because it does that in partnership with the church.

“Sometimes people feel they have made mistakes but very often they have been driven into debt by suffering from job loss, relationship breakdown or coping with illness in the family or a bereavement – situations that are often difficult, emotional and have a financial impact.

“We are now in the process of putting a dedicated debt centre manager and key members of our church through training with CAP to offer a face-to-face, tried-and-tested professional service which will see people escape that debt trap and get their lives back on track.”

The centre also set up Burngreave Foodbank in 2012.

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CAP has around 300 church-based debt help centres across the UK, offering a free service which usually begins with three home visits.

TV’s Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has described CAP as “unsurpassed” in its in-depth service which encourages and supports each household to repay what they owe - or go through an insolvency - until the day they are debt free.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a UK charity determined to reduce poverty by delivering debt counselling, money management, job clubs and support for people breaking addictions.

It has 600 centres around the country, including a debt centre and job club based at St Thomas’s Church in Philadelphia, Sheffield.

The charity says its services are open to anyone, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

Website: https://capuk.org/

Call Freephone number 0800 3280006 to get help. The service is always free and CAP does not take commission.

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