Working on the Frontline

Our Annual report is now available for all to read – please scroll down for the full report.

I am pleased to report another successful year for Citizens Advice Central Dorset. Face to face consultations are increasing and we are holding more actual than virtual meetings. We owe all our teams – staff and volunteers – a great debt of gratitude for maintaining the service, despite severe difficulties, over the last few years. The rapid move to working from home, switching to virtual e-consultations and telephone were all done positively, with everyone keen to make the service work – and it did! Thanks too to our clients for working with us so well to keep everybody safe.

Dr David Cove, Chair of Trustees

One definition of the word frontline is the following: “the most advanced, responsible, or visible position in a field or activity”

There is no doubt that the year 2021/22 matched that definition in every way. By advanced we mean that our teams across the Central Dorset area were often the first point of contact for clients who were experiencing extreme hardship and stress. The combination of Covid and the Cost of Living Crisis is a potent one which has layered people’s problems and increased the complexity of the issues that need to be unravelled by our superb advisers. As is highlighted in the summaries of our various projects, our core team of volunteers took the brunt of the work in supporting people who presented to us with no food, no means to cook food or heat their homes. The emphasis of our work has shifted towards dealing with those in extreme situations and I would like to thank those volunteers who have maintained their energy, professionalism and dedication in such a tough year.

Daniel Cadisch, Chief Officer