Our Partners
By working with our funders and partners, Citizens Advice Brent ensures comprehensive, accessible, and impactful support for the community.
We address a wide range of issues to enhance the overall well-being of residents.
Working with our funders and partners, Citizens Advice Brent can:
Offer Comprehensive Support
- Wide Range of Services: Citizens Advice Brent addresses a variety of issues, including debt, benefits, housing, employment, consumer rights, relationships, and taxation.
- Expert Advisers: Trained and regulated advisers provide specialized assistance to ensure clients receive the best possible support.
Provide Outreach and Accessibility
- Targeted Outreach: Services are specifically designed to reach those most in need, such as mental health patients and individuals facing cost of living challenges.
- Accessible Locations: Services are delivered through multiple outreach points including mental health wards, food banks, libraries, and hubs across Brent.
Showcase Collaborative Efforts
- Partnerships: Collaboration with 23 organizations, including the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), Toynbee Hall, Greater London Authority, and Brent Council, amplifies the effectiveness of our services.
- Specialized Projects: Initiatives like the London Citizens Advice GLA Cost of Living Project and the Citybridge Foundation Reception Transformation enhance service delivery and community engagement.
Demonstrate Impactful Assistance
- Financial Benefits: Citizens Advice Brent has generated significant income gains for residents, addressing financial stability and improving quality of life.
- Practical Support: Immediate and comprehensive support for over 1,000 clients annually, tackling critical issues such as housing, welfare benefits, and employment.
Who We Work With
Citybridge Foundation
The Citybridge Foundation has initiated a five-year funding programme aimed at transforming the Citizens Advice Brent reception area. This initiative will support the employment of a new adviser and convert the reception into a mini hub. The objective is to provide immediate assistance to over 1,000 clients annually, addressing a variety of issues such as housing, welfare benefits, employment, and debt.
Debt Free Advice
The Debt Free Advice service, funded by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), is a pan-London initiative led by Toynbee Hall and involves 23 participating organizations, including Citizens Advice Brent. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, this service assisted numerous people with debt issues, providing free, confidential, and regulated advice by trained debt advisers who each manage cumulative debts of around £800,000 per quarter.
Central and Northwest London Mental Health Foundation Trust Partnership
Since 2007, Citizens Advice Brent has been offering an outreach service at the Park Royal Centre for Mental Health. The service targets sectioned patients and those too ill to access traditional advice services. The support ranges from information provision to formal representation, addressing issues such as benefits, housing, money advice, employment, and more. This service is crucial as mental health service users often face significant employment challenges and financial dependency on benefits.
Greater London Authority Cost of Living Project
In its second year, this project is a collaboration of 20 London Citizens Advice charities and includes various roles such as Crisis Prevention Advisers and Specialist Welfare Advisers. The initiative, which partners with the London Legal Support Trust, aims to support Londoners facing cost of living challenges through outreach advice, community group referrals, and crisis prevention. In Brent, services are provided from the main office and Kensal Rise Library.
Free Legal Advice Service
Operating since 2001, the John Fisher Free Legal Advice Service offers free legal advice sessions on Tuesday evenings, managed by volunteers from Clyde & Co and other legal advisers. The service was established in memory of John Fisher, who contributed significantly to Citizens Advice Brent.
Brent Food Bank Collaboration
Brent Foodbank is part of a nationwide network of food banks providing emergency food and support to people locked in poverty. Working in partnership, Citizens Advice Brent provides up to 28 hours of support per week at two Brent foodbank locations: Neasden and Kingsbury, aiding those in need with various issues including welfare benefits, housing, and consumer issues.
Workforce Development Project
Funded by the Propel ‘Robust Safety Net’ stream, this project aims to develop a sustainable advice sector workforce embedded in disadvantaged communities. It includes employment pathways for trained advisors, ensuring ongoing support for marginalized groups.
National Lottery Community Fund
This funding will enable the employment of a new adviser able to provide immediate assistance with housing, welfare benefits, employment, and debt issues.
Brent Health Matters Initiative
Funding from Brent Health Matters supports a volunteer team delivering immediate assistance to over 500 clients in three months, addressing a range of issues from housing to debt.
Brent Council Partnership
Under a four-year contract, Citizens Advice Brent provides services at four Brent Hubs and eight Family Wellbeing Centres. From April 2023 to March 2024, the service received 6,363 advice requests from residents and conducted 49 housebound appointments. The primary issues addressed include benefits/tax credits, housing, Universal Credit, debt, and utilities. This service also generated £1,702,923 in income gains for Brent residents.
Energy Advice Project
Working in partnership with national Citizens Advice via the Energy Advice Programme (EAP), Citizens Advice Brent provides one-to-one energy advice appointments to clients who are in or at risk of fuel poverty, often vulnerable, and may be struggling to pay their bills. Energy advice includes advice on energy efficiency, income maximisation, and energy grants with the aim of reducing their bills.