As chaplains we are not experts or counsellors, but we can help you try to find the information that you want or need. This is some of the information that we have drawn together to help. Please note that although there are some national advice lines, these are mainly for the Merseyside region as that is where MitE Chaplains work.

Please note that this information is subject to change at any given time. Telephone numbers and website links provided so that you may find the most up to date information. Information correct at time of publishing 30.11.2023.

Debt

Greater Merseyside Money Advice Partnership 0300 330 1196

Debt Advice Foundation 0800 043 40 50

National Debt Line 0808 808 4000

StepChange www.stepchange.org 0800 138 1111

Citizens Advice

  • Liverpool CAB

  • General Advice 0808 278 7840

  • Debt advice 0300 330 1196

    • General Advice Drop in locations:

    • Monday - Parklands Library, Speke, L24 0TY from 10am - 2pm Map

    • Wednesday - The Cunard Building from 10am - 4pm Map

    • Thursday - Toxteth Library, L8 1XF from 10am - 2pm Map

    • Money Advice - Thursday - Citizens Advice Liverpool, 242 Picton Road, Wavertree, L154LP 9.30am - 12.30pm Map

    • ​Please note: The adviser running the drop-in session will decide when the maximum capacity for the session has been reached. Therefore, we recommend arriving early to increase your chance of speaking to an adviser. 

  • St Helens CAB 01744 751 380

    • General Debt advice phone number 01744 737866

    • General Enquiries; i.e. benefits, housing etc - 01744 737866

    • Debt Advice Contact form - approx response time 2 weeks

    • Debt Drop-in (Wednesday 10am- 12pm)

      Please note the drop-in service is for information only. No benefit checks or form filling will be undertaken.

    • 2nd Floor, Millennium Centre, Corporation Street, St Helens, WA10 1HJ

    • Map

  • Warrington CAB 01925 246800

    • The Gateway, 89 Sankey Street, Warrington WA1 1SR

    • Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 0900-1700

    • Map

    • Email

  • Skelmersdale CAB 0344 245 1294

    • Unit 47, The Concourse Shopping Centre, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6LN

    • Map

    • Visiting in person - A drop in service is available at our Information Centre in the Concourse - Tuesdays 10.00 until 13.00 and Fridays 10.00 - 14.00

    • Check if you need to book an appointment. You can drop in to our office to speak to someone.

    • If you would like to pre-book an appointment, contact them to see if this is an option.

Sefton CAB 0808 278 7841 / 0151 318 6407

  • Bootle Advice Centre

297 Knowsley Road, L20 5DF (opposite May Logan Health Centre and North Park, next to the Ambulance Station)

Open 9.30am-4pm

Map

  • Southport Advice Centre

23 Prince Street, Southport. PR8 1EG (behind Southport Market and opposite Grace Church).

Open 9.30am-4pm

Map


Council assistance e.g. household support funds, fuel vouchers etc

  • Liverpool

    • Energy Support Scheme

    • Foodbanks and Pantries

    • Liverpool Citizen Support Scheme - Call Freephone 0800 456 1523 or 0151 233 3053 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

    • Free School meals information

    • Housing Benefit information

    • Homeless or At Risk

      • Help for Rough sleepers

      • If you are worried about someone who is sleeping rough, call our 24-hour ‘Always Help Available’ on 0300 123 2041. You can also make an online referral. This service is delivered by the Whitechapel Centre. 

      • Severe weather

        If overnight temperatures are predicted to drop to 2 degrees Celsius or below during winter, or in the event of weather such as storms and high winds, we work with local partners to offer a range of support.

        This support includes food and prescribed medication and is offered through the Whitechapel Centre along with any other support service involved in the person’s care.

        Temporary, shared ‘sit-up’ communal spaces for a small number of people can also be used if demand increases.

    • Get help for a Vulnerable Adult, or worried someone is at risk of abuse - more information here

    • Zero Waste Liverpool CIC - saving food from landfill. Various locations around Liverpool and Sefton, join their facebook groups for more up to date information. Most of the events are Drop in sessions, but some will need to be prebooked.

      • Monday - 930-1030 Northwood Together, 11 Lifton road, L33 5YA. Bring your own bags

      • 1030am - Activity for All, Maguire Avenure, Bootle, L20 9PQ. Bring your own bags

      • 1pm, KFC Mondays - The Church of the Holy Spirit, East Prescot Road, L14 2EH. Bring a cooler bag

      • 10pm - All Souls Church, Springwood Ave, L19 4TX - must prebook, see Facebook group for more details.

      • Tuesdays - 1-2.15pm, Northwood Together, 11 Lifton Road, L33 5YA. Bring your own bags

      • 10pm - St Hildas Church, Hunts Cross, L25 0NG - must prebook, see Facebook group for more details

      • Wednesday: 10am-12noon, Warm Hub, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 4 Mill Bank, L13 OBN. Bring your own bags

      • 10pm - All Souls Church, Springwood Ave, L19 4TX - must prebook, see Facebook group for more details.

      • Thursdays - 10pm - St Colombas, Hunts Cross, L25 ONR - must prebook, see Facebook group for more details.

      • Friday - 11am-12noon - St Colombas, Hunts Cross, L25 ONR. Bring your own bag

      • 11am-1pm Warm Hub, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 4 Mill Bank, L13 OBN. Bring your own bags

      • 1230pm - KFC Fridays - the Place to Be, Speke, L24 2TA. Bring your own cooler bag

      • 930pm Halles Hub, Ford Lane Community Centre, L21 9NF. Food pre bagged.

      • Saturday 11am-12noon - St Hildas Church, Hunts Cross, L25 0NG. Bring your own bag

      • 11am-12noon, Clockwork Studios, 12 Eccleston Street, Prescot, L34 5QE. Bring your own bag

      • 10pm - Elm Hall Drive Methodist Church, L18 0NE - must be prebooked see Facebook group for details

      • Sunday 12noon-1pm - The Church of the Holy Spirit, East Prescot Road, L14 2EH. Bring your own bag

      • 6pm - The Place to Be, Speke, L24 2TA - must be prebooked see Facebook group for details

      • 615pm-7pm - The Place to Be, Speke, L24 2TA, bring your own bag

      • 10pm - The Church of the Holy Spirit, East Prescot Road, L14 2EH - must be prebooked see Facebook group for details

  • St Helens

    • General advice contact form - waiting time for response approx 1 week. Must be a resident and pay council tax in St Helens to use this service

    • Universal Credit Help to Claim 0800 144 8444 / 01744 737866

      or Email helptoclaim@casthelens.org.uk

    • Help with Food Fuel or Furntiure - Household Support Fund

    • Foodbanks/Pantries

      • WEDNESDAYS

      • Food Pantry – St Matthews Centre (Advice on Money Management and Improving Employability)

      • St Matthews Grove, Thatto Heath, St Helens, WA10 3SE

      • Drop in between 8:50am – 11:00am.

      • Map

      • Food Pantry – St Luke’s Community Centre (General Advice – St Helens Information and Advice Service)

      • Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, WA10 4PU

      • Drop in between 3:30pm – 5:30pm.

      • Map

      • THURSDAY

      • Food Pantry – St Marks’s Centre (General Advice – St Helens Information and Advice Service)

      • Park Street, Haydock, St Helens, WA11 0BH

      • Drop in between 8:50am – 11:00am.

      • Map

    • Housing Advice or at Risk of Homelessness

    • Rough Sleeping

      • Rough sleeping is the most severe form of homelessness. If you've seen someone sleeping rough or who may need our support in St Helens, please contact our Housing Options and Advice Service on 01744 675150.

      • You can use the StreetLink website to report your concerns about someone you have seen sleeping rough in your local area. This will alert the appropriate authority or outreach service where you have seen the person, to help them find the individual and connect them to support.

  • Skelmersdale

  • Sefton

  • Report a hate crime

  • Assistance with fuel bills

    • If you think you are worried about keeping warm or paying your fuel bills here are some ways you can get help:

      contact the Council's Affordable Warmth Service on 0151 934 2222;

      call the local Energy Advice Freephone line on 0800 043 0151 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm);

      fill out this form to ask for help. 

  • Foodbanks and Food Pantries

  • Emergency Credit for prepayment meters - 0151 934 2222

  • Energy Projects Plus is a charity that manages the local Energy Advice Line.

    They offer Sefton residents free and impartial advice on the latest grants and discounts available;

    energy efficiency around the home;

    renewable energy and information about .

    To find out more, or to refer yourself to their service, call the Save Energy Advice Line free on 0800 043 0151 (open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm).

    Or you can email advice@epplus.org, or use their contact form to request a call back from an energy advisor.

  • Household support fund

  • Homeless or at risk of homelessness

    • If you have nowhere to stay or if it is unsafe for you to return home, or you will be homeless within the next 56 days (eight weeks), you should contact the Housing Options Team immediately.

      You can email the team on housing.options@sefton.gov.uk

      register as homeless using the Council's customer portal. If you have not already registered please set up an account and complete the referral form.

    • The team will assess your case and will be able to provide housing options for you and your family.

  • Rough Sleeping

  • If you suspect people are having to sleep rough in Sefton, you can help us by contacting Sefton Council’s commissioned Rough Sleeper Outreach Team, Light for Life on 01704 501256 or 07918 746042.

    • Please note, this number is not a 24 hour service and only to be used when a member of the public has seen rough sleeping. It is not for general homeless cases or advice.

  • People can also email the Light for Life team at shc@lightforlifesefton.org.uk.

  • If you are rough sleeping the Housing Options Team can support you to help you to find somewhere to stay. You must contact the team during office hours so that arrangements can be made. If you are rough sleeping and the Housing Options Service is closed, please contact 0151 934 3555 to let the Council know where you will be sleeping so that support can be provided.

  • Veterans in Sefton is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation that helps veterans who are homeless or living in unsuitable housing. Based at The Brunswick Youth and Community Centre in Bootle, Veterans in Sefton can be contacted on 0151 933 0800 or 07591 825204 out-of-hours.

  • Alternatively you can use the StreetLink website to report your concerns about someone you have seen sleeping rough in your local area. This will alert the appropriate authority or outreach service where you have seen the person, to help them find the individual and connect them to support.

    Welfare Rights

  • Sefton Council also provide advice sessions, appointments can be made by ringing the telephone advice line. They can provide assistance with the following:

  • Advice on claiming appropriate benefits.

  • Help to complete benefit claim forms.

  • Assistance to challenge Benefit decisions, including tribunal representation where appropriate.

  • Advice regarding back to work benefits and better off calculations.

  • For more information or to book a face to face appointment call 0151 934 3660 or by email

  • The Welfare Rights Advice Line is available on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10.00 am-12.30 pm.

  • Warrington

  • Nationwide

Benefits & general advice

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/

Liverpool 0808 278 7840

St Helens 01744 737866 / 0808 2787985

Sefton

  • Freephone 0808 278 7841 Mon - Fri 0930 - 1630

  • Text relay 03444 111 445

  • Debt advice - 24 hr - 0151 318 6407

  • Universal Credit - Freephone 0800 144 8 444 Mon - Fri 0800 - 1800

Warrington 0300 3309 091 /  0800 1448444

Skelmersdale 0800 144 8444


Bereavement

Cruse 0808 808 1677

Good Grief Trust

National Bereavement Partnership Helpline 0800 448 0800 (7am - 10pm)

Child Bereavement UK  0800 0288840 (9am - 5pm)

Grief Talk (support for children and young people)  0808 802 0111 (9am - 9pm)


Bereavement

SANDS: (Still Birth and Neonatal Death) 0808 164 3332

Blue Cross: (support for the death of a pet) 0800 096 6606

SOBS: Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide) 0300 111 5065

SAMMS: (Survivors of Bereavement by Manslaughter or Murder)  0121 472 2912 / text 07342 888570


Homelessness

Whitechapel Centre Langsdale Street Liverpool 0151 207 7617

Hope House 41-43 Corporation St. St Helens 01744 20032

Room at the Inn 17 Winmarleigh Street Warrington 01925 632771

Light for Life, Sefton, 01704 501256 or 07918 746042.


Substance Abuse

Recovery in Liverpool 0203 5530324

CGL St Helens 01744410752

Pathways to Recovery Warrington 07919 558644

Building Bridges (affected by others’ substance misuse) 01744 808 212


Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Modern Slavery Helpline 08000 121 700


Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence Helpline 0808 2000 247


Hate Crime

If you are the victim of a hate crime or hate incident you are encouraged to call the Police using 101 or the Police Facebook and Twitter accounts. If you don’t want to report it to the Police you can make a report to Stop Hate UK using the following:

Telephone 0800 138 1625

Text: 07717 989 02

Text Relay: 18001 0113 293 5100

BSL via www.stophateuk.org

Email: talk@stophateuk.org

Chat: www.stophateuk.org/talk

Online: www.stophateuk.org/tell

Post: Stop Hate UK, PO Box 484, Leeds, LS7 9BZ

Bullying

Bullying at Work 0808 800 2222

A.C.A.S. 0300 1231100


Mental Health

Mind 0300 123 3393

Samaritans 116 123

Papyrus (Under 35s Suicide support)   0800 068 4141 or text 07786 209 697  

The Mix (Under 25s) 0808 808 4994