Charity uses radio to reach out to people in debt

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is harnessing the power of radio to reach out to people trapped in problem debt.

The Bradford-based charity has teamed up with HCJB Global, a media and healthcare charity, to design an advert using the voices of past clients to explain the difference the service has made to their situation.

The 30-second commercial will be going out on Metro Radio, the most popular FM station in the Newcastle area, in a one-week campaign from September 26 and statistics show 277,000 people will hear it around four times during that period.

It marks CAP’s first venture into radio advertising and the charity is hoping it will encourage desperate people to contact one of its many new debt centres in the North East.

The advertising campaign comes not long after research by the organisation found that 37% of its clients had considered or attempted suicide prior to seeking help.

Research also revealed that 62% of clients with children had found themselves unable to clothe or feed them adequately, while 61% admitted to waiting over a year before seeking help for their debts, many because they did not think anyone could help them or because they felt too ashamed or embarrassed.

CAP said that most people ended up deep in debt not because of overspending and credit cards but because of a change in circumstances, such as job loss, relationship breakdown, illness or bereavement.

CAP Chief Executive Matt Barlow pleaded with people in debt not to wait until things get worse.

“The most tragic figure for us is that so many people waited to get help, feeling suicidal, hungry and ill and all the while believing no one could help them," he said.

“The most common reason for waiting literally years to get help is that they thought no one could tackle the situation. The truth is so very different.

“Every day at CAP, we’re celebrating more clients becoming debt free.”