CAB asks hard-up people to tell their story

2:47pm Saturday 19th July 2008

HARD-up people in Taunton and Wellington are being asked for their stories to help tackle child poverty.

Taunton and District Citizens' Advice Bureau wants families struggling to make ends meet to tell them about their problems.

The office, in Station Road, Taunton, hopes to hear from people finding it hard to make money last, find it difficult paying utility bills, cannot find the cash for their children's school uniform and find it too expensive to celebrate birthdays.

The bureau is participating in a nationwide CAB campaign to force the Government to honour its pledge to halve child poverty by 2010.

It wants families to contribute evidence to a report by sharing their experiences via the charity's website www.citizensadvice.org.uk or through Adviceguide at www.adviceguide.org.uk The adviceguide can also be accessed via the kiosk in the waiting room at the Station Road premises, where postcards can also be completed.

Information can be recorded anonymously and will feed into the End Child Poverty campaign run by several charities including Citizens Advice.

Taunton CAB manager Liz Fothergill said: "The Government has promised to halve child poverty by 2010.

"Citizens Advice will hold them to account to keep their promise but to do this we need to hear from families willing to share their story.

"You can tell us in complete confidence but the information collected nationally will be presented to the Government to make sure they know what life is really like for many parents and their children trying to manage day-to-day on very low incomes."