Mission

Brent Advice Matters will build a high quality, integrated 'gateway' which willsupport our clients and the citizens of Brent to help themselves to the advice they need, releasing resources for over-stretched specialist advice serviceattract more advice agencies into the partnership, spreading the benefit of the gateway approach

Category

Education and Skills

Additional Information

Brent Advice Matters is a partnership of 7 charitable advice and advocacy agencies in Brent, London: Brent CAB, Brent CVS, Age UK Brent, Brent Mencap, Ashford Place, Advice4Renters and Brent Community Law Centre. Brent is one of the most deprived boroughs in the capital and among the 50 most deprived boroughs in England and yet there is a shortage of quality of advice services in Brent. Brent is expected to be one of the boroughs worst hit by welfare reform: in the current (and future?) political and economic climate our clients are facing the double jeopardy of welfare reform and increasingly scarce or stretched free legal, welfare and debt advice services. The impact will be catastrophic: more evictions and homelessness, greater isolation of older people and people with disabilities and wrongful decisions unchallenged for example. Our partnership aims to stem this tide by doing more with less, by: creating a Brent-focused web advice portal to help our clients to help themselves increasing the number of trained volunteer 'first contact' advisors educating our voluntary, community and statutory partners about Brent's advice services so clients get the right referral, first time building a common high standard of first contact advice across our partnership building our partnership to include more of the specialisms and agencies that our clients need