Family and housing are biggest priority for Clacton residents

A groundbreaking seminar for parents and support workers revealed that family issues and housing are the biggest concerns for people living in Clacton.

The seminar which took place at Colbayns Community Centre, was organised by law firm Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP, which operates a publicly funded legal advice service in Clacton for families through its Tendring Outreach Scheme. 

Partner at Fisher Jones Greenwood Chris Graves said: “The seminar went extremely well.  We made it as interactive as possible and everyone said not only did they learn a lot but also had fun. Not surprisingly the most pressing issues which came up were to do with families and housing. At our legal advice surgeries we deal with many people who have multiple issues whether it is with housing, domestic discord, financial difficulties or child related such as intervention by social services or exclusion from school.”

Lawyers from the Tendring Outreach Scheme also spoke about education, legal help for young people and welfare matters during the interactive sessions. Diane Kilgour, Project Manager at Colbayns Community Centre, said: “Before the seminar some of the parents gave us some questions they wanted the lawyers from Tendring Outreach to answer and this made for some lively debate.  We offer a full service at Colbayns from IT courses to free drop in sessions and a crèche, and so we were delighted when Fisher Jones Greenwood approached us with the idea of running a legal seminar on some of the important issues which affect our clients.”

Under the Tendring Outreach Scheme a specialist solicitor is available five days a week at the Citizens Advice Bureau office at 18 Carnarvon Road and a service also operates every Tuesday from the Citizens Advice Bureau at 298 Main Road in Dovercourt. Telephone conference facilities are available in both offices if urgent advice is needed from specialist lawyers in Fisher Jones Greenwood’s Colchester premises. Although many clients are referred through agencies anyone in need of advice can make an appointment to see a solicitor

For further information about the Tendring Outreach Scheme please call 01206 578282.

Listen to the seminar on the fjg podcast