Advice sessions in Stratford and Silvertown

Kay Atwal, Chief Reporter Friday, June 15, 2012
1:00 PM

Residents struggling with debt, housing and benefits problems can go to a series of advice sessions launched by Newham charity Community Links.

The new sessions are based in two of the charity’s community hubs, on the Rokeby estate in Stratford and at the Asta hub in Silvertown.

Free, confidential advice will be available on a first-come, first-service basis, with no appointment needed. The Rokeby session at 63 Rokeby Street will run from 12.30 – 3.00pm every Tuesday, and the Asta session at 14a Camel Road will be 12.30 – 3.00pm every Thursday. A trained advisor will be on hand to answer any questions, and will be able to refer residents to specialists if necessary.

Community Links will continue to run its main drop-in advice service at 105 Barking Road every Monday to Thursday at 9.00am, as well as evening law sessions at Stratford, and several other specialist projects. But they hope that making general advice available in community centres will make it easier for residents to access early support, before their problems escalate and become very serious.

Sharon Elliott, advice manager said: “We always urge people to seek support as soon as you think you might be getting into difficulty, and not leave it until the last minute. So if you live nearby please do pop in to your local hub and say hello to the centre managers Loreen (Rokeby) or Tracy (Asta) who will be happy to explain more about the sessions.”

The charity is hoping to do the same in its other centres in the borough if the project is successful.