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Young people who have struggled with debt problems and sought advice to overcome them have created two entertaining documentary style short films in a bid help others in the same situation.
Scooby and Adila both 22 and from Stoke on Trent, are two young people with very different debt problems, but both sought advice from their local Citizens Advice Bureau. Along with other members of the charity’s ‘Youth Forum’, they have been working with Citizens Advice and Bafta award winning youth agency Bold Creative, to produce films which tell their story and educate other young people on how to get out and stay out of debt.
Over 50,000 under 25s visited a CAB in England or Wales in 2008/09 to get help on debt and recent research undertaken by Citizens Advice and young people’s charity YouthNet showed a quarter of 16-24 year olds have suffered mental health issues because of their finances.*
The desire to find new ways to reach out to young people facing stressful debt problems prompted Citizens Advice to team up with Bold Creative. Using illustration, Adila’s story is a ‘Waltz with Bashir’ styled documentary animation which brings to life the problems she faced. ‘Scooby’s story’ uses humourous ‘fantasy reality’ sequences to convey a serious story of falling into debt.
Scooby’s problems started when he withdrew £10 from his current account, but only had £9 of credit. Going £1 overdrawn resulted in him racking up ongoing monthly overdraft charges which he wasn’t able to pay back as he was struggling to find a job. The charges quickly spiralled to £600. In the film Scooby talks about the importance of not ignoring your debts and seeking help.
He says:
“I was getting loads of letters telling me to pay the money, but I just ignored them and put them in my bottom drawer. I knew I needed to get help and thought ‘I’ve got nothing to lose’ so I went down to my local CAB. Within 4 months they’d helped me clear my debts, it really was like a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
Adila is a self confessed shopaholic who succumbed to the lure of student loans, overdraft limits and store cards to fulfil a void of unhappiness. She says:
“Because of my debt, I got even more unhappy. Until recently I hadn’t even told my parents about my situation. I felt trapped and alone and didn’t know where to turn to get help. I didn’t want anyone to find out but I really wanted to sort my life out. I needed somewhere confidential to turn to and heard about Citizens Advice.
“I’d say to anyone in the same situation as me – ‘you’re not alone’. It was such a relief to talk to the adviser at my local CAB. They are there for everyone regardless of age or how big your issue.”
The films will be widely available through social networking sites as well as the Citizens Advice website. Additional fact-sheets and debt management guidance will also be made available.
The films can be viewed here: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/advice_changing_young_lives
The films were made as part of the Advice Changing Young Lives project, a pioneering three year initiative funded by HBOS foundation. Citizens Advice and YouthNet are working together to provide money advice to 16-25-year-olds online (via YouthNet’s guide to life for young people,  www.TheSite.org) and on mobiles. The fact-sheets have been developed by young people, who have adapted information from www.TheSite.org, and the Citizens Advice website www.adviceguide.org.
Bold Creative, as an award-winning agency with a track record of producing innovative campaigns for young people, were brought in to support a participatory led approach and help the young people produce the film.
Young people can get information on debt and money matters at www.adviceguide.org.uk or www.TheSite.org.
Additional notes to editors
- *Penny for your thoughts report; Citizens Advice and YouthNet, 2008.
- Stills, audio and the film clips are available. Scooby, Adila and other young people involved in making the films are available to talk about their experiences.
- The Citizens Advice Youth Forum was formed in September 2006 and supports Citizens Advice in developing volunteering projects for young people. Any Citizens Advice volunteer between the ages of 16-25 can become a member. The role of forum members is to make sure that Citizens Advice is doing things right and to give young volunteers the chance to have their say.
About YouthNet
- Run by young people’s charity YouthNet, www.TheSite.org is the online guide to life for 16 to 24-year-olds. With over 2,000 articles written by experts and journalists, a series of blogs, podcasts and videos, a bespoke question and answer service (askTheSite) and a thriving online community, www.TheSite.org is the central place for young people to turn to for sound, straight talking, anonymous advice 24-hours-a-day
- Every month, www.TheSite.org is visited by over 500,000 unique users, and receives around 800 questions on issues ranging from relationships to advice on housing. Content on www.TheSite.org is also available on mobile, at www.TheSite.org/mobile
YouthNet is the UK’s first exclusively online charity and was founded by Martyn Lewis CBE in 1995. It aims to create a socially inclusive environment where all young adults are engaged, informed and inspired to achieve their ambitions and dreams, and does this through two award winning websites, www.TheSite.org and the UK’s leading volunteering website, www.do-it.org.uk.
About Bold Creative
- Bold Creative is a Youth Innovation and Social Marketing agency established in 2004. Employing a user-centred approach Bold develop innovative communications solutions to empower young people and engage hard to reach groups in a memorable way.
- From consultation and development to design and delivery, Bold offer integrated, social-marketing campaigns across all media that create ways to engage, inspire, educate and unlock the true potential of people. A track record in participatory media, production, designs and interactive uniquely enables us to achieve very specific social and educational aims. The main focus of our business has been working with young people and adolescents to address the common issues which affect them daily. Using innovative animation and design we have successfully communicated an array of hard-to-deliver messages direct to local communities.
- Pushing through several ground-breaking projects to raise the profile of young People’s voices in mainstream media, Bold Creative have in the past year won seven international awards including a Royal Television Society award and a BAFTA for their work with BBC Newsround as part of an initiative for National Child Poverty month.
www.boldcreative.co.uk
Notes to editors:
- The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers.
For more information in England and Wales www.citizensadvice.org.uk
For more information and 2008/9 service statistics see Introduction to the service
For 2008/9 service highlights see the Citizens Advice service impact report
For 2008/9 social policy campaigning highlights see the Citizens Advice social policy impact report
- The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
- Most Citizens Advice service staff are trained volunteers, working at over 3,300 locations across England and Wales.
- Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2 million clients on 6 million problems from April 2008 to March 2009
- Advice and information www.adviceguide.org.uk
- Volunteer hotline 08451 264264 (local rate)
- Citizens Advice Guide to your rights, second edition: January 2008 - over 600 pages of practical, independent CAB advice. An invaluable resource for any bookshelf - available from all good bookshops; price £11.99; ISBN: 9780141034089
- Follow Citizens Advice on Twitter: twitter.com/CitizensAdvice
- Subscribe to Citizens Advice press releases via RSS news feed: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/pressoffice
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