Charity remodels service with new office

A South Wales charity has opened a new office and remodelled its service to meet the needs of an increasing number of people needing energy and money advice.

Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taff has launched a new office in Pontypridd after three years of delivering its services from community outreach locations in the town.

The new office opened to the public in September 2023, with the charity celebrating its launch with a grand opening with stakeholders from the local authority, the Department for Work and Pensions and smaller partner charities a couple of months later.

Karen Taylor, Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taff’s Deputy Chief Executive, said the office’s new prime location has been a huge game-changer for their service.

She said:

“We’ve always had a presence in Pontypridd, but our old office was a bit out of the way – it was a bit of a walk for some people. It wasn’t really fit for purpose.

It’s been a long time coming, but we’re now on the High Street with a shop front. We had an opportunity to design a space around our service rather than the other way around, which is what we had in the old office.

It’s more open and accessible for more people. We wanted to be where as many people as possible could get to us.”

In just the first four months of being open, more than 1,800 people came through the doors, demonstrating the demand for the charity’s services.

Karen added:

“It’s given us a chance to completely reconfigure our service delivery model. People used to be met by a receptionist and maybe had to wait a while to be seen, no matter what they were coming to us for. Now, people are met by the most senior person available and we’re able to sort issues much quicker and provide tailored support more easily.

We’ve had an increase in people asking about energy issues, and we have altered our service to cater for them.

Our new Money Clinic on Tuesdays incorporates anything to do with money, including energy bills. There’s no need to make an appointment, people can just walk in off the street and get advice about their finances. And we now have self-help stations to enable people to get the information they need quicker, empowering them with the information they need.

People have been really positive about our approach. People seem to love the new space and the numbers speak for themselves. We’ve had more people through the door and we’re seeing them quicker.”

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