Does the sign below really mean what it says?
My evidence is that the above message is really true.
When I last rang this number a couple of months ago the above number didn't work. It was only on the sixth try within their stated hours, did I get through.
Today at 10:17 am ( open Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri 10am to 2pm and Sat 10 am to 1pm) the phone was answered within ten seconds. I enquired when it would be possible to see a helper/councillor here in Ulverston and was told as from Thursday October 3rd clients could make an appointment for a face to face interview here in Ulverston on Mondays and Thursdays in our Town Hall.
I then talked to a client that was being helped over the past 18 months how she found the new organisation. She said that when she had phoned, she was put in touch with the very same volunteer that she had got to know before the Ulverston branch closed. This implies that some of the original volunteers who served at Ulverston are now working at the Windermere office of the new organisation - Cumbria Rural.
Things are looking up. Sadly I can't give any credit to Cllr Mark Wilson who may of may not have been working behind the scenes as when I enquired he gave me no immediate answers.
He and our Town Clerk will be the first to admit that the present situation has taken a long time to happen. The closure of our CAB in March this year started to be planned in Kendal as far back as July last year . Yet Ulverston Clients were left with nowhere to go other than Barrow from the time that the Ulverston branch was closed. This meant that people I have spoken to had to start recounting their case from scratch as though they had never been to CAB before which was extremely frustrating.
Lets hope our CAB is now able to cope with the strain of an increased case load in the future. I trust that Cllr Mark Wilson (who is ideally positioned being a Town, District and County Councillor) will keep his eye on how the service is able to perform. Is there a need for more volunteers in Windermere, I ask myself. Will those needing a face to face interview in Ulverston now be able to achieve this promptly?
Your experiences are of great interest to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment