Community listening posts...

Press, 24 April 1980, Page 17

Community listening posts...

The Citizens Advice Bureaux in Christchurch are holding a publicity week from Monday. They want to make their service better known to the needy in the community and, more especially, to make people aware of the suburban offices. ALAN SAMSON looks into the work they do.

“More than 50 times a day we answer the query, .‘Please, can you help ' me?’ ” 1 That statement appeared in the local body digest. “Link” in August, 1977. It was inserted by the Christchurch Citizens Ad- ■ vice Bureau, an organisa■tion set up to advise individual members of the . community-.— on anything and everything. It continued: “We are able to help because we have a vast store of knowledge on cards and on file in our office and, if more than just facts are required, we put people in need in touch with those who can fulfil that need.” Today, there are more likely to be 100 calls a day at the bureau’s Gloucester Street offices. And the work has spread . out into the suburbs, with new branches opened at Bishopdale and Hornby. The work of the 60 bureau interviewers has not changed,, but the need within the community not only still exists, it has mushroomed. People ring up, or call in, to ask “What is the

time?” or “How do I go about getting a ' divorce?” And the interviewer listens, whether for 10 minutes or for an hour. ' The Citizens Advice Bureau began in Britain during the Second World War mainly to aid people with problems . about rationing and the like, and to assist evacuees find their feet in new areas. The first New Zealand C.A.B. opened in Ponsonby in October, .1970. It was set up particularly to help ■ Maoris from rural areas integrate into city life. The second New Zealand C.A.B. began in Christchurch just one month later, operating out of the then “Public Relations” offices in Oxford Terrace. In 13 months, there were a little over 1000 inquiries, then the premises became no longer available, and the organisation passed into recess. It reopened, at its present address, in June 1973. In the first year, there were more than 3000 inquiries. In the year ending September, 1979, there were more than 14.000. Last month alone there

were 1340 calls — and this was not a record. The growth has not been confined to Christchurch. There are now more than 50 C.A.B.s throughout New Zealand. Each is an autonomous and independent body. In common, each is getting busier.

The organiser for the Christchurch C.A.8., Mrs Angela Bowron, believes the increasing number of calls is a product of the times; there is a growing financial pressure on men, women, and children that shows no sign of abating.

“The number of calls relating to family and personal problems, as against straight marriage problems, is growing,” she says. “It’s as if the pressure is now on the whole family as a unit.” The town C.A.8.. central and relatively well-known, attracts a wide range of queries and requests. Angela Bowron stresses the family and marriage

difficulties and the personal problems. “We also have, many calls about tenancy and accommodation. It’s the financial pressure again, landlords finding they have to put up rents and people counting every penny.” In the outlying branches, the type of need usually reflects the nature of the area. Mrs Joan Sumner, of the Bishopdale bureau, says: “We’re an absolute example of suburbia. We get a lot of calls about leisure activities, many on legal matters, and a growing number relating to family problems.’

Mrs Betty Brown, of the Hornby bureau, says: “There are a lot of factories in our area. Our task is mainly job referral, but we also deal with many legal questions, and we, too, are noticing greater pressures on the family.” All bureaux have free legal advice lawyers operating in or near their offices, several times a week, and most of the legal problems that arise are referred to them. Both the Bishopdale and Hornby branches are fortunate to be part of comprehensive community centres, set admist a variety of services that they

are able to call upon and liaise with.

Bishopdale has a health counselling centre, a district nurse, a Police liaison officer, and a Maori social worker. Hornby has a “drop-in” centre, a job referral agency, Handiscope, and a budgeting service.

At all times, the interviewer will remain carefully neutral. He or she might be a strict Roman Catholic or an upholder of a woman’s right to abortion on demand. Nevertheless, all alternatives, without recommendation or bias, must be put before the caller. “If you don’t agree with

an alternative, you bite your tongue,” Mrs Brown says. .

The Citizens Advice Bureau live on a shoestring. They receive min* imal grants from their local borough councils (though are independent of them), apply for other charitable grants as they

become available, but to survive they must rely on a work-force that is strictly voluntary. The knowledge they glean about their commun ities is immense. Each gathers and collates statistics which show clearly the major areas of concern in the broader society.

The figures are passed on to "the local body authorities and, at a national level, to parliament. A wise government might take notice of such indications. “They show what the country is thinking and how peonle are reacting to legislation,” Mrs Bowron says.