Thursday 22nd September - Drop-in Advice Session
Today, Cheetham Hill Advice Centre, which is the only neighbourhood advice centre in Manchester, held a drop-in advice session. They were holding three sessions this week as part of their regular work. 37 people came seeking advice, and of those 22 were seen by someone at the centre and the rest were signposted elsewhere. Everyone who came to the session was seen, however long it took.
At this particular drop-in, a young woman with learning difficulties came in desperate for help. She and her two young children had been evicted from their home last night. With the help of her advisor, she found temporary accommodation. In the view of that client, the work of Cheetham Hill Advice Centre is “a life saver’.
Friday 23rd September - Volunteer Information Session
The latest volunteer information session held by Cheetham Hill Advice Centre was busy with 15 people coming along to find out more about volunteering at the centre. Three of them were previous centre service users and they were told about the roles available, details of the volunteer training courses, the support they could receive and the work they would be doing. if they were still interested, they filled in an aplication form to have a one to one session.
The centre held this session as they need more volunteers as others have left because they have gone on to employment, training or degree coures. They usually carry out a recuitment drive twice a year. The reasons people volunteer with the centre vary but include wanting experience in a challenging position, wanting to gain more confidence and increasing their knowledge. Many come to volunteering with skills that can be used to help the diverse community such as language and finance skills. A current volunteer ran the information session and gave her experience of life as a volunteer.
