A GROUP of voluntary organisations in Stroud which come to the aid people in crisis have been given a joint grant of half a million pounds.

The partnership of charities and community group in the district were awarded the funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Help through Crisis project.

A total of £500,000 will be used by these organisations to give people in financial crisis immediate help, followed by support and advice to help people stay out of debt.

It is designed to help people address difficulties, find a way out of poverty, and be in a better position to improve circumstances and plan for their future.

The new funding will be discussed at the annual general meeting of Stroud Valleys Credit Union, one of the partners in the project.

Sally Pickering of Stroud Citizens’ Advice and Alex Lodge of GL121, the community hub in Cam, will speak about this project in depth and explain the next stages.

The AGM will take place on Saturday, February 25 at noon in the Old Town Hall, The Shambles, Stroud (pictured below).

Sally and Alex will speak at the conclusion of the formal business of the meeting, which is expected to be very short.

If you wish to join the credit union, you can do this at the meeting and you will not have to pay the joining fee.

Stroud News and Journal:

The Big Lottery Fund is investing a total of £30million to different areas around England to fund best practice, collaborative projects that will provide a range of services including hands-on advocacy and advice, to better enable people to deal with the problems they are experiencing.

Projects will be rooted in the community and focus on supporting people who have most difficulty accessing mainstream services, for example, disabled people, those with learning difficulties, people with mental health issues and those who live in rural locations.

Stroud Valleys Credit Union (SVCU) is a co-operative, owned by and providing banking services for its members. It is a non-profit making organisation run by volunteers. It is supported by Stroud District Council and has working links with a number of other statutory and voluntary bodies in the district.

More information about SVCU can be found at: www.svcu.org.uk. There is also a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/stroudcu