When T came to Christians Against Poverty (CAP) at St John’s Church, Hensingham in Whitehaven in early 2021 she was really struggling. Her relationship with her husband had broken down, she had lost her job and, as her family lived in the south of England, she found herself isolated in her new home with no transport and in debt. 

The team at CAP Whitehaven provided T with all the support she needed. The first task was to get a debt plan in place which would help T to become debt free and to help with her immediate situation, the team worked with FareShare to provide T with a fresh food parcel.

Gradually, with the support of the CAP volunteer team, T started to become more confident. She started a new job and, when family members became ill, the CAP team helped her find an affordable car so she could travel south to see them.

Over time T worked incredibly hard and stuck to her debt plan and has now become debt free!

With her increased confidence, T is working with the team’s support on a plan to move back to the south of England to be near her family.

T said: “I walked away from a difficult marriage and ended up with nothing. I was in debt and felt ashamed to admit I needed help. I went to Citizen’s Advice who told me about CAP. It took me a while but when I eventually contact CAP, I was treated like a person and they didn’t judge me. The help they gave was amazing! I received help from the food bank and also did my CAP Money course. I am now debt free and living in West Sussex, I have a new job and life is good!”

The CAP Whitehaven service is run by St John’s Church, Hensingham and was part funded by CRT. To find out more about the support they offer go to https://www.stjohnshensingham.org.uk.