Stratford CAB gets £430,000 Lottery funding boost

Stratford District’s Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is set to receive more than £430,000 in lottery funding to help the most vulnerable people in the town.

The organisation is one of six in the West Midlands set to benefit from a share of just over £2.9 million, earmarked for the region.

The grants are part of a wider £30 million announcement across England by the Big Lottery Fund this week.

The money in Stratford will fund a new CAB project called Reach Out and Help 3, in which the CAB actively looks for people in the area who may require assistance.

This can take the form of knocking on doors and delivering leaflets and is a more pro-active approach than relying on people who need help to come forward at the organisation’s walk in service on Meer Street.

Specialist workers will be able to help people manage debts, gain access to welfare benefits or grants, save money on fuel bills, address unattended medical issues and much more.

The project, delivered in partnership with Springfield MIND, will include provision for CAB staff to offer advice and help to people in their homes.

The project expands on the success of the CAB’s reach out and help programmes that have run in the town for the last three years, funded by the Town Trust.

The Lottery funding will ensure that the new program will run for the next three years and will pay for four members of staff.

Reach Out and Help 3 has been launched in response to the growing number of people seeking help who cannot be adequately dealt with by the walk-in service on Meer Street.

It will be aimed at people living in Stratford, Alcester and the surrounding villages and will see a number of local volunteers recruited.

Sue Green, manager at Stratford CAB, said: “This funding will allow us to continue to provide specialist and intensive support to some of the most vulnerable people in our community, ensuring they get help before their problems escalate further.

“With a general decline in funding for some of our key community services, this grant could not have come at a better time. Working alongside local partners we will ensure that those who need help the most, get the right kind of support to move forward more positively in their lives. This funding is vital, we would not have been able to run this program without it.”