CITIZENS Advice won’t be leaving residents hanging with the launch of their new community telephones.
Located in libraries and community centres across the borough, the free phones connect directly to Citizens Advice volunteers, to help residents with any concerns.
The scheme launched last week as part of a plan to keep help on hand, despite the charity keeping offices closed to the public this year.
Instead of a regular drop-in, residents are encouraged to pick up the phone, which dials Citizens Advice directly.
If more help is needed, or if the topic is more complex, volunteers will then arrange a one-to-one meeting to chat about the problem some more.
Jake Morrison, chief executive of Citizens Advice Wokingham, said the 10 phones have been funded by Wokingham United Charities.
“They cost £100 each,” he said. “But once they’ve been bought, that’s it. It’s an investment. We’re hugely thankful to Wokingham United Charities.”
The first three phones have been placed in Woodley Library on Headley Road, Salvation Army on Sturges Road, Wokingham and The Cornerstone community hall on Norreys Avenue.
The remaining seven phones will be distributed to community spaces next month.
Mr Morrison said: “With the offices not open, the phones give us more flexibility to speak to people. Our volunteers can even work from home and take the calls.
“Throughout the pandemic, 97% of calls have been answered within seconds. People who call these phones won’t be left waiting. It connects straight to Citizens Advice and they can get talking to someone within minutes.”
Mr Morrison hopes the scheme will be used by residents who may have not thought about calling the charity before.
“We want to be in convenient spots for people, so they can just pick up the phone and reach out,” he said. “We don’t want people to be missed out.
“We’ve also had a number of councillors get in touch, asking if we would consider adopting some of the telephone boxes in the borough.”
BT are currently running a consultation on nine phone boxes, which could be kept or adopted by a charity — depending on the public reaction.
Ros Fernley, senior library assistant at Woodley Library, said she was happy to see the new phone for local residents.
“I’m so impressed with Citizens Advice,” she said. “They’ve really masterminded the support system during the pandemic, and this is the next step.”
The phone lines are open from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday and 9am until 1pm on Saturdays.
Currently, Woodley Library is open from 9am until 1pm, Monday to Friday.
