As Helen Barnard, Deputy Director of Policy and Partnerships at Joseph Rowntree Foundation said recently, in relation to how the coronavirus pandemic will impact those on low incomes: ‘The services on which people on low incomes rely are also at risk of disruption, such as food banks and advice teams… It is vital that the Government and other organisations in the UK take all possible action to reduce both financial pressure and increased anxiety.’
Quids in! and Clean Slate are firmly in the category that Barnard refers to. The support teams at our Quids In Centres in London, Gloucestershire and Bath work hand in hand with our publications team to provide people on low incomes with crucial information on how to manage their money and navigate financial issues, from food poverty to problem debt. In order to minimise disruption to our service, we took immediate steps, and began developing online resources as soon as it became clear the coronavirus crisis was going to change the way all of us work.
Corona-Finance
Chief among those changes has been developing ‘Corona-Finance’, a coronavirus information service designed specifically for our target demographic, ie, social tenants, benefit claimants and low-income earners. An audience that, with over 500,000 new Universal credit claims in just nine days, is potentially set to explode.
The Corona-Finance service distils information down into six key areas: Employment; Housing; Benefits; Money; Food and Self-Isolation & Wellbeing. Our core team of service coordinators and editorial staff have drawn on their expertise to build and refine the resource, and an online enquiry form means readers can submit questions to which the team provide answers within a forty-eight-hour timeframe. The information will also be circulated through a special edition of our regular monthly email service, Quids In Readers Club (QIRC).
Financial Shock
Whereas the pandemic has raised awareness of those vast swathes of the UK population vulnerable to financial shocks, there has yet to be an upsurge in clear information relating directly to the challenges faced by these groups. Yet, this crisis, like all financial crises, will disproportionately affect the most financially vulnerable. Quids in! came about in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, when many people in the UK were plunged (deeper) into poverty. The economic implications of 2008 are still very much being worked through but the impact of the coronavirus on the economy appears set to cause a recession that is both deeper and wider than that following the crash ten years ago. Our experience over the last twelve years has taught us the vital importance of giving timely, accurate information to people often excluded from ‘mainstream’ money advice services.
A Collaborative Approach
As Jeff Mitchell, Founder and Director of Clean Slate says: ‘A collaborative approach to the coronavirus crisis is essential for all of us working in the sector. Many low-income earners are at high risk of losing their income and being signposted to benefits, which existing claimants already know is a minefield. Panic-buying, self-isolation and illness itself is changing how people can spend on essentials and for anyone not online, that leaves them dependent on support. Together we can come through this, but the need for guidance, reassurance and support for low-income households is unprecedented, especially as many of them weren’t in that bracket just a couple of weeks ago.’
The launch of the Corona-Finance service coincides with the merger of Quids in! and Clean Slate. By bringing the two organisations together we’ve been able to extend our reach further than the areas local to our Quids In Centre teams. Designed as a broad and comprehensive offer for low-income households, the entirety of the Corona-Finance service includes:
- A web enquiry function to ask the financial questions that thousands, maybe millions, of people in similar circumstances may also have
- A rolling FAQs page, listing the unique questions as they arise and the latest guidance
- A one-off e-news digest partners can share with tenants, customers and service users to promote the online facility
- An expanded money email service with the latest coronavirus-related financial tips and guidance, led by the team producing the Quids In Readers Club
We’re now in a position to roll the Corona-Finance Quids In Readers Club emails out through partner organisations who are interested in working alongside us to share this information with their audiences. To discuss any potential partnership, please contact partnerships manager Lisa Woodman on [email protected].Â
