What is the vision of your Organisation?
Citizens Advice Mole Valley (CAMV) provides free, independent advice and support to local residents, helping them to navigate challenges ranging from debt and housing to employment and welfare.
Why has your Organisation signed the ‘End Poverty Pledge’?
We adopted the pledge as an organisation following involvement with the East Surrey Poverty Truth Commission (PTC), because we wanted to make a clear commitment to embed poverty prevention into our strategy and everyday practice.
What examples can you give of your Organisation putting the ‘End Poverty Pledge’ into practice?
Our refreshed strategic plan now explicitly references the ‘End Poverty Pledge’. Actions are being developed to align our organisation’s work with the pledge, supported by resources made available through the PTC.
We pay all staff at least the National Living Wage, are committed to offering staff and volunteers opportunities for training and development and have recently updated our staff expenses policy to bring mileage rates in line with HMRC guidance.
We are part of a wider network of organisations tackling poverty across Surrey. We work in close partnership with agencies including Good Company Surrey, and attend the weekly Leatherhead Community Hub Advice Café, which enables us to reach more clients and connect with other services in a collaborative way.
Accessibility and dignity are central to our organisation’s values. Services are available to anyone in financial hardship, and staff and volunteers receive comprehensive Citizens Advice training, which includes awareness of the challenges faced by those in poverty. Additional training is provided through quarterly all-staff sessions with guest speakers such as Stripey Stork and Mary Frances Trust.
We take a strengths-based approach, empowering clients rather than creating dependency. We provide direct advice and support, while also signposting and making referrals to specialist organisations when additional help is needed. This ensures clients do not fall through the cracks and can access consistent, coordinated support.
What would you hope to be able to do more of in the longer term?
We would like to make more use of ‘End Poverty Pledge’ resources, such as poverty awareness training developed through the PTC to further strengthen staff, volunteer and trustee understanding.
Monitor outcomes more explicitly for clients on lower incomes and disadvantaged groups.
Involvement in the PTC has highlighted the importance of including lived experience in shaping services. We would like to explore how we can embed this into our own strategy.
“We have some of the most deprived areas in the county within our remit, so take very seriously the opportunity to build on the service we offer to make it the best it can be for all our clients.”