New office, same great service at CAB

Jane Eynon-Richards at the Bureau's new home.

Rotorua's Citizens Advice Bureau has a new office where volunteers continue to provide the human touch for those in need of good advice.

As more and more services are provided online, the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) remains committed to providing a unique person-to-person service, said Rotorua CAB manager Jane Eynon-Richards.

"Being able to talk to a real person is a rarity these days and is a key part of what makes the Citizens Advice Bureau service unique. The only thing that is different is our location.

"So as well as celebrating the National Awareness Week the Rotorua bureau is also celebrating the move to new premises."

The bureau recently moved to 1143 Eruera St after 20 years at Community House. The requirement came about as a result of a Rotorua Lakes Council decision to demolish Community House.

"After a long search we finally found a place we believe we can make work as a welcoming and effective bureau," she said. "We moved in on February 22 and are continuing to provide the same services as we did when we were in Community House. We expect it will take a while for people to get to know where we are and we will miss the networking and ability to refer clients to the other agencies when they were our immediate neighbours.

"But what will always remain the same is that people really appreciate the chance to talk to someone in person about their problems. Although there's now a wealth of information available online, a lot of people want help to work out how that information relates to them, and that's where we can help. We provide a person-to-person advice service that is independent, confidential and free of charge".

Last year CAB volunteers nationally received over 535,000 inquiries on issues ranging from housing and employment to consumer rights, health and family issues.

Rotorua had over 16,000 inquiries last year. Common inquiries included work conditions, renting issues and consumer law.

- For more information visit www.cab.org.nz, email rotorua@cab.org.nz, or call (07) 348 3936.