MANAGER of the East Dorset Debt Centre, Pam Ansell, has revealed the “heart-breaking” dilemma facing many charity debt centres which has seen services being pushed to their limits due to rising poverty levels.

The centre, based in Ferndown, offers free debt advice to local people across East Dorset and Ringwood and is run in partnership with UK debt help charity, Christians Against Poverty (CAP).

CAP has reported that despite helping 20% more people to become debt free across the UK last year, its frontline teams still had no choice but to turn away over 4,000 people, due to appointments being fully booked.

In response, CAP plans to more than double the number of appointments available across its UK church network, and also increase the number of churches it works with locally.

CAP’s East Dorset Debt Centre Manager, Pam Ansell, said: “I’d never have imaged how drastically UK poverty was about to escalate when our church first opened a CAP Debt Centre 10 years ago.

“We are seeing situations where household income just isn’t enough to cover the most basic needs, and families are going hungry. All of this is now the daily reality for our service.

“The number of people in need of help has surged, and the situations our clients are facing are more complex than ever, as persistent poverty takes a toll on people’s health and wellbeing. Right now, for so many, life is just about survival.

“We’re doing everything we can to support people in our community, but the truth is, it’s getting harder and harder. It’s heartbreaking to see the level of need our clients are facing and I wish we could offer even more help and time to them.”