When Lily* first visited our food bank, she was struggling to put food on the table. What followed was a transformation she hadn't thought possible.
Lily was regularly losing pay to illness, with her wages frequently dropping to statutory sick pay (just £118.75 a week). But the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) was still deducting £300 from her wages, despite her providing evidence that the payments were unaffordable. On top of that, she was carrying rent arrears, council tax debt, and water debt, and needed a fuel voucher to keep her heating on.
At our South Gloucestershire outlets, we work alongside Kate, an adviser from Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire, which provides free, confidential advice to people who visit the food bank.
Kate intervened with the CMS on Lily's behalf. An investigation found the CMS had made an error — Lily had been charged far more than she owed. The overpayment is now being applied as credit, meaning Lily owes nothing to the CMS for the foreseeable future.
Kate also secured £250 from the Gloucestershire Society charity to help Lily with gas and electricity costs. And Lily is now receiving support from our Debt Team to work through her remaining debts.
The results have been life-changing.
“I received so much help because of Kate,” Lily said. “My life has changed dramatically. I'm positive I'm going to be debt-free by the end of the year — and I have my electricity and gas under control.
“I've had help from organisations I wouldn't have known about without Kate. I would 100% recommend Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire. It can be a bit daunting asking for help — but there are no negative impacts, only positive.”
And Lily's story is far from unique. Across all our outlets, advisers from Citizens Advice Bristol and Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire work alongside our teams every week, helping people navigate exactly these kinds of situations — systemic errors, unclaimed entitlements, spiralling debt. Last year, their work generated £419,453 in financial gains and costs saved for the people they supported: an average of £659 per household. Money that allowed families to eat, heat their homes, and start to see a way forward.
Stories like Lily's show what's possible when the right support is there at the right moment. No one should have to face a crisis alone, and at North Bristol & South Glos Food Bank, we're committed to making sure they don't.
Name has been changed to protect identity. Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire is an independent charity. Kate provides advice at our South Gloucestershire outlets as part of an ongoing partnership.
