Money Sorted

Project Team Members: Joshua Aspden; Hong Chi Number of Clients served: 26 (15M, 11F) Number of New Cases: 15 Partner organisations: St. Ann’s Advice Centre, Newstart project

Project Description

The Money Sorted project provides support and personally tailored interventions for people experiencing financial difficulties. It aims to help refugees take control of their money, build confidence and the skills needed to tackle barriers and improve their financial wellbeing. It is part of the Building Better Opportunities programme, and is funded by the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.

Project Successes

• 15 participants left the programme this year, having completed their Financial Resilience

Action Plans. This meant they came away with a better understanding of how to address their debt and improved their basic knowledge of financial matters • 8 of these participants are now in employment or full-time training • There are 10 participants currently working on the programme, at various stages of their journey. 6 have been referred to ESOL courses and 6 now have a curriculum vitae (CV) and are ready to start applying for work

Project Targets/Outcomes

The project target is to take on 10 new participants per quarter (40 per year) and to improve participants’ capability and confidence to manage their finance better. Due to Covid it was difficult to sign people up at the start of the year and there were 15 new starters in 21/22. The participants on the project have a better understanding of their income and outgoings, and their ability to budget has improved. The majority understand that employment is the best solution to their financial problems. All participants now have bank accounts, and most of them know how a bank works, how to budget, what a loan is and what a debt is.

Plans and hopes for the coming year

• In the coming year (the final year of the programme) we will continue to support participants with their financial resilience plans, including help with budgeting and debt management • There will be a focus on helping clients understand the consequences of the current energy crisis, and how to handle their bills • We aim to help 50% of our participants into work or training

Appreciation: we would like to thank…

Colleagues at NNRF and the Money Sorted team at St Ann’s Advice Centre

“ “Suhaib Ahmed was granted refugee status in July 2021 and is looking to bring his wife to the UK through the Family Reunion Scheme. His only income was Universal Credit so he was very keen to get a job and start saving. He joined the Money Sorted programme to help him better organise his finances and work on an action plan to achieve his goals. He has a degree in Civil Engineering which is recognized in the UK, so he had applied for a few electrician jobs in Nottingham. However he soon found out that most of the employers prefer people who have previous working experience. Money Sorted signed him up to the Newstart programme, which runs courses to help people gain relevant work experience in electrical and civil engineering fields. Once the course is completed, they also provide opportunities for paid training courses, to enable continuation of their practical experience while receiving a wage. While looking for an opportunity to gain some relevant work experience, Money Sorted helped him to obtain a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence so that he could find work as a security guard. We provided him with a character reference, and the programme was also able to pay for his SIA test fee. We were also able to further improve his job prospects by helping him obtain a driving licence, which will enhance his employability and broaden his job search area. The project paid for 8 hours of driving lessons and his test fee, and he is looking to complete the test in the summer of 2022. A Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card is a must-have for professionals who work at construction sites. With the help of his Money Sorted Personal Navigator, Mr Ahmed is currently applying for his card, and has recently passed a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) test for Managers and Professionals, which is part of the requirements. He also recently started work as a trainee construction engineer and quantity surveyor at a construction company. “