THE important work of Okehampton Citizens Advice and their face to face sessions in the town continues thanks to a £25,000 grant from Okehampton United Charities.

Citizens Advice, based in the Ockment Centre, provides free, confidential and impartial advice to anyone and everyone in the community.

In 2015 the Okehampton office supported over 2,600 clients who presented 3,660 individual issues in areas such as debt, employment, housing, benefits and tax credits. The volunteer advisers based in the town supported each one of those clients with independent advice to help them tackle their issue and move forward with their lives.

The grant from Okehampton United Charities is a significant contribution to the overall Citizens Advice service in the town, which also includes a local Adviceline telephone hub and email and webchat advisers.

Vicki Rowe, CEO for the charity and West Devon district manager, said: ‘On behalf of all the staff and volunteers in Okehampton, we would like to thank Okehampton United Charities for such a generous award and express our appreciation for the support they have shown us.

‘Like us, they believe that our charity is a valuable service in the town and have shown that through this substantial investment that will enable us to continue providing the advice that so many residents in the area need.’

The money will help to support the unique face to face advice which the charity offers. This includes the ongoing training of their volunteer advisers to ensure the advice they give to clients is to the credible and high standard for which Citizens Advice are renowned.

If you need advice or information on any issue, call into your local office in Okehampton (Ockment Centre) open Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10am to 4pm. Alternatively you can call the local rate Adviceline on 03444 111 444.