A Fife charity says it is struggling to cope with demand after a 55% rise in people needing help with issues like debt in 2021.
Citizens Advice and Rights Fife offered support to 15,500 people across the kingdom between April and November, compared with 10,000 people the previous year.
The charity also offered 44,000 pieces of advice, despite volunteer hours dropping from 19,000 to just 5,500 as Covid-19 prevented face-to-face meetings.
And chief executive David Redpath predicts that 2022 will be similarly challenging as the pandemic continues to pose a variety of problems for both the charity and residents.
Bid to ‘manage expectations’ amid rising demand
He said: “We’re definitely trying to see everyone and manage expectations.
“The average wait time to speak to someone over the phone is about 30 minutes right now.
“I want to apologise for that but that is the reality we are facing.
“We have six offices across Fife which have all been focused into one phone system.
“Seeing people face-to-face in the office is so much easier.
Debt is so real at the moment, but will be more so when people start collecting them again
“We need people to be patient. We are doing our best with the resources we have.
“Debt is so real at the moment, but will be more so when people start collecting them again.
“We can give advice on anything, from financial and employment to health and relationships.”
David says the organisation is looking for more volunteers and anyone who is able to help out can get in touch.
It comes as the citizens advice team is operating below pre-pandemic levels.
He said: “It’s been constant all year, it always feels like we are going two steps forwards and one step back but the staff and volunteers have certainly made things easier.
“Our volunteers’ roles are so important, especially for face-to-face services, and the team’s performance this year has been amazing.
“We usually meet our customers and clients face-to-face but we can’t do that anymore.
“A lot of work has gone on in the background to get a new way of working up and running.
‘Difficult to manage’ volume of calls
“We could open the office for vulnerable cases because we can’t do them over the phone but the restrictions make that difficult.”
It comes as the charity continues to see a rise in demand for advice and support, particularly on issues brought on by the pandemic.
David said: “It is difficult to manage everything that’s coming in.
“It would be great if everything that is going on didn’t affect us and people didn’t need our help but things are so difficult right now.
“People are finding life difficult, with things like benefits, employment and furlough when it was around.
“People need the help, there are no two ways about it.”
He believes queries around debt will continue to rise in the new year, especially in January and February when money-related issues tend to rise.
And David says anyone with debt should deal with it “sooner rather than later” before it gets out of control.
