Community Advice ABC senior advisor, Lisa McKernan, and colleague Caroline Caesar, briefed members of ABC Borough Council鈥檚 Community & Wellbeing committee on the invaluable advocacy role their team plays in assisting local residents struggling with debts and other issues. The not-for-profit organisation provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice throughout the ABC area, and is funded by the Department for Communities, the Southern Health & Social Care Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support and the ABC Council. Addressing ABC Community & Wellbeing committee members at their June 9 meeting, Lisa McKernan outlined the range of services being offered by Community Advice ABC, saying: 鈥淲e鈥檝e been operating across the ABC council area for more than 50 years. You may know us as formerly Citizens Advice. 鈥淲e became an amalgamated single service in December 2024. We work out of our main offices in the Armagh, Banbridge, Lurgan and Portadown areas, and we have a range of outreach venues as well. 鈥淭he main issues that we deal with are education, pensions, family issues, health, housing, immigration, tax, crisis referrals, welfare benefits, consumer, employment and debt, but there are many other things that we deal with as well, and we encourage the public to contact us about any issues that they may have. 鈥淚f we can鈥檛 deal with it ourselves, we can always find an organisation that we can signpost you to. 鈥淲e have a couple of projects running at the minute. We have a specialised debt project which gives advice and assistance on debts; we have a Macmillan benefits project which also offers advice and assistance for people experiencing cancer as well as their family members; we have both a regional helpline and a hospital-based service; we have the Southern Health project as well, which is advice and assistance for hospital in-patients with mental ill health at Craigavon Area Hospital; and we have a weekly inreach clinic at the Bluestone unit; plus other outreach services across the area as well. 鈥淲e also have a pension guidance service; we do form-filling for people for benefits; we deal with complaints; we give advice on a [wide range] of areas; we help to challenge decisions; we give specialist debt advice; and we also take people through monetary reconsiderations and the appeal process, providing tribunal representation.鈥 Caroline Caesar was next to address committee members, and she was keen to point out that Community Advice ABC does outreach work throughout the borough: 鈥淚n Lurgan we are directly next to the town hall, in the little annex building. 鈥淚n Armagh, we are in the location next to Sainsbury鈥檚 in McCrum鈥檚 Court. 鈥淚n Portadown we are in the health centre (Portadown Health Centre). There鈥檚 a turning revolving door and we鈥檙e just inside on the right-hand-side. 鈥淎nd in Banbridge we鈥檙e actually in the Old Town Hall. 鈥淲e鈥檝e developed an integrated advice model that operates in community outreach locations. 鈥淓ach week, our team provides on-site advice in places like social supermarkets, Women鈥檚 Aid, one-stop shops, libraries, community centres, and also Craigavon Area Hospital鈥檚 Bluestone Unit. 鈥淭his approach is vital for vulnerable individuals asking for help. 鈥淓very person receives advice tailored to their own circumstances. 鈥淲e are thankful for the support of the Department of Communities and ABC Council who fund us and help us stay independent and continue this vital work. 鈥淥ur outreach projects are delivered across the whole of the ABC council area, ensuring that it is accessible for all.鈥 Outreach clinics are rolled out as follows: Caroline Caesar continued: 鈥淚n 2024/25, we received a total of 20,112 calls; our generalist service handled over 33,000 issues; we maximised income across the ABC area by 拢3.8m; the Macmillan Welfare Benefits Team gave an additional income of 拢976,835 worth of money to vulnerable families; our specialist debt team managed 拢2.4m worth of debt within the ABC area; we represented 149 people at hearings and generated from those appeal cases 拢651,000. 鈥淯ltimately, we know from the feedback we receive that what we are doing is making a difference to our community.鈥 Committee members were clearly impressed with the above figures, and with the work of Community Advice ABC in general. Ald Margaret Tinsley (DUP, Craigavon DEA) had warm words for the Community Advice ABC representatives, stating: 鈥淲e all probably do mean [to say] the same thing, and that is to thank you for the job that you do. 鈥淚 know that all the staff do go above and beyond to help those that are in need, and it鈥檚 very much appreciated . 鈥淵ou鈥檙e covering such a vast area. I know of individuals that have availed of your advice and support, and I genuinely thank you for that.鈥 Councillor Br贸na Haughey (SF, Cusher DEA) was equally appreciative: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a service that I probably haven鈥檛 used before, but I will certainly be directing people towards it in the future, and probably using it myself with my constituency work.鈥 To contact Community Advice ABC, phone 0330 135 9733 or visit their social media pages. Alternatively, visit adviceabc.co.uk for more information. A private message can be sent via the website.