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The Small Change service, funded by HBOS, is now into its second year so can we put our money where our mouth is and prove that we’ve delivered the goods.
You bet we can!
Reached: Over 1000 young people
Long-term support: 11 clients, 9 on 1:1 basis
Average Client Debt: £1500
Usual circumstances: risk of losing tenancy, fuel poverty, low food supplies
Staff Trained: 34
Instant Advice and Information only: 59 instances
Resources produced:
Top Tips Booklet: 460 distributed
Xmas booklet: 320 distributed
Trolley Tokens: 253 distributed
Contributed to:
Scottish Youth Housing Network
Presenting workshop at SYHN Conference
Debt advice is not just learning to budget or holding off the bailiffs. Its the Small Change’s that make a difference:
Putting a pound into a trolley or locker seems like a small thing but we have calculated that for a young person (aged between 18-25) claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance - a pound represents 15 % of their weekly disposable income (or 4% if you include the amount available to buy food). If a pound coin is tied up in a trolley or locker, this is a significant sum not available to spend on necessary items.
On average a young person receives £46:85 JSA per week
Priority Spending :
Utilities £15 *
TV licence £3
Food £22:50
Total: £40:50
Balance: £ 6.35 *
*not including debt, clothes, entertainment, etc.
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Busy, busy with no time for slacking when there’s debt to be erased.
Groupwork: 2 projects are planned
Financial Fitness - mental, physical and financial health
Young Person’s Guide to things to do for free in Edinburgh.
BeBo Site: developing money based social network – sharing ideas and solving problems together.
More Training… loads more…
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Jodie, 20, is living in her first flat with her partner John. She moved up from England last year to escape an abusive mother and at first she spent time with her dad in another city. Living with relatives is difficult and the relationship started to become sour so they moved to Edinburgh and spent several months living in temporary accommodation, in and out of hostels and B&Bs.
Getting their first flat together was a significant step and has meant feeling Jodie feels safe and settled for the first time in years.
At first things were good; a place of their own, no threat of abuse, a chance to spend time together, but very soon Jodie noticed that money just wasn’t lasting. On basic benefits, on top of her living costs she was having to give money to “subsidise” her partner who was spending more than the two of them received. As the weeks went on she found she was running out of cash and having to borrow from friends. Eating and keeping herself and her clothes clean were the highest priority. The first round of bills came as a shock - water rates and utility bills were ignored; day-to-day survival was costing enough without having to spend on things you can’t see.
Jodie was finding that by the end of the day, after her benefits were paid, she was left with only a couple of quid to last the fortnight and debts to friends needed to be paid as soon as she received her money. A couple of times after paying her friends back she was left with no money at all to buy essentials. Initially another Streetwork support worker asked Small Change to assist with the problem of spending.
The first thing we did was to talk about spending and budgeting. It became apparent that Jodie wasn’t making any budgeting arrangements at all, so after analysing her spending by looking at her day to day buying habits we set a budget for food and bills and how to pay back her friends. Within two months she was able to buy enough food for the fortnight, make regular payments towards utility bills and not need to borrow from friends.
Once this spending was under control she felt more confident to be able to come forward with some of her other money worries: she had a final demand for Council Tax (water and sewage rates) and was in debt to the electricity company by over £600. With the assistance of Small Change she negotiated payments to the utility company to pay off her debt and changed utility companies in order to get a better deal, basically getting more electricity for her money.
Through talking with her about her money worries, she now feels more able to talk with creditors before things get to crisis point: she is negotiating a payment plan to pay off her Council Tax and is budgeting more carefully in order that she can pay next year’s council tax without getting into debt.
To Jodie it has been important that Small Change has supported her consistently: by developing a relationship over several months she has felt more confident to be able to reveal further money problems affecting her - and more self-assured in being able to assert herself and say no to her partner and friends when they ask to borrow money.
Although John hasn’t been directly working with Small Change, the knock-on effect of Jodie’s spending habits has changed the way he thinks about money too. He has become a great support for Jodie and is looking more carefully at getting the best value for money instead of buying on impulse. Instead of borrowing from her, he respects that once household expenses have been paid, her money is for her to decide what to do with. In this way Small Change has become its own “buy one get one free” special offer. |
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