As families struggle with the cost of living, those who provide money guidance in the third and public sector can really benefit from the support and skills development offered by the Money Guiders Network in Scotland, writes John Mitchell.
Anyone following the news in recent weeks will have heard the phrase “cost of living crisis” coming up again and again. Rising utility bills and the cost of food have left many ordinary families across Scotland struggling to make ends meet and looking for advice as to where they can get help and support.
The Money Guiders network in Scotland is aimed at those who provide that all-important money guidance. The network, which is run in Scotland by the Improvement Service and funded by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), holds regular online events, facilitates a peer-support network through the Knowledge Hub and provides opportunities to learn new skills and develop existing ones.
Events so far have covered issues as diverse as wellbeing for money guiders, food security and the new benefits offered by Social Security Scotland, as well as sessions addressing rising energy bills, with speakers from Home Energy Scotland and Age Scotland. The network has also heard from the Scottish Government, Young Scot, MaPS (about their Money Helper site), StepChange Scotland Debt Charity, the Wheatley Group and several councils.
Throughout 2022/23, we are looking to strengthen and grow our Money Guiders network in Scotland even further, reaching more money guidance practitioners through events and networking, helping them to be more effective in the way that they support people during what may be a financially difficult time for many.
But how do you know if the Money Guiders Scotland network is right for you? Well, if your job or your volunteer role means people share their financial difficulties with you and sometimes ask you for advice, then that makes you a Money Guider. You don’t have to be an expert on financial issues or a monetary whizz-kid; anyone who speaks to people about their money worries or even signposts them to other organisations for help providesmoney guidance and will benefit from joining the network and coming along to our future events.
The network is an open and inclusive space, so we welcome people from all parts of the third, voluntary and public sectors; you may be a housing officer, energy advisor, or in a volunteer role where you are in touch with people who have money worries. We want to reach as many people as possible; even if money guidance is just a very small part of what you do.
Everyone is welcome to join, but we also want to hear from you about the kind of events that you want to see. We want to make sure our network remains relevant, reflecting what is affecting communities around the country.
You can find out more about how to get involved at www.moneyguidersscotland.org or search for us on the Knowledge Hub: https://khub.net/
We are also on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and anyone can sign up to Money Guiders Scotland network events to get a taste of the kind of support we provide to the Money Guiders community: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/improvement-service-money-guiders-network-33557486519