Training launched in West Wales to help more people in financial need

Turn2us, which helps people in financial hardship, has partnered with Jig-So Children’s Centre in Cardigan to deliver training workshops to reach greater numbers of people in need across West Wales.

Turn2us helps people gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and other financial help – through its website, helpline and face to face through its partner organisations. It is part of the UK charity Elizabeth Finn Care. In the last financial year, Turn2us trained over 2,000 front line advice workers across the UK, so they can help more vulnerable people to access vital support.

Jig-So Children’s Centre provides support and care for families, including outreach services to the rural surroundings of Cardigan.

Through this new partnership, one of Jig-So’s qualified and experienced staff members has been trained to deliver Turn2us workshop sessions to organisations, volunteers and service users in Ceredigion, North Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

The free workshops will enable advice workers to use Turn2us to check welfare benefits entitlement, search for charitable grants, and access information on managing money. The sessions are interactive, and participants are able to see Turn2us’ tools - including its free Benefits Calculator and Grants Search - in action and learn how the features can help people who are struggling financially.

Pat Cripps, National Officer for Wales at Turn2us said: “We are delighted to be working with Jig-So in this way. The need for support across West Wales is greater than ever, with the costs of food and fuel continuing to rise, and local services being cut. The professional training support from Jig-So will enable many more people to find out about and use Turn2us to help them through difficult financial situations – both now and in the future.”

Linda Grace, Chair of Trustees at Jig-So said: “Turn2us is a fantastic resource for anyone to use to check they are getting all the income they are entitled to. Our Turn2us training service will help other service providers find out how to use it so they then can help their own users to access this support.”

The training workshops will run regularly across West Wales, with the next taking place on Thursday 20 November in St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire.

If you are working or volunteering in an advisory or support role, and would like to find out more about the workshops, please contact: Buddig Meredith on 01239 615 922 or email fundingofficer@jigso.co.uk.

For more information about Turn2us, please visit www.turn2us.org.uk.

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For more information and interviews with spokespeople, please contact:                                                        
Emma Lamberton, Communications Officer, Turn2us
Email: Emma.Lamberton@turn2us.org.uk Telephone: 0208 834 9259

Notes to Editors

About Turn2us

• Turn2us is part of the national charity Elizabeth Finn Care.
• Turn2us helps people in financial need gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and other financial help – online, by phone and face-to-face through our partner organisations.
• The Turn2us free, accessible website - www.turn2us.org.uk is designed to help people access the money available to them – through welfare benefits, charitable grants and other help.
• The website has a number of tools to make the process simpler, including a Grants Search, Benefits Calculator and ‘find an adviser’ tool to help locate someone to speak to.
• Turn2us works in partnership with organisations across the UK, including AdviceUK, Association of Charitable Organisations, Citizens Advice, Child Poverty Action Group, Home-Start UK and Money Advice Trust to develop our services and reach the many millions of people that need our help.