A Rooted Finance and Resolve Poverty Blog
The theme for this year’s Black History Month is ‘Honouring Our Communities’, reflecting how Black history is made not only through milestone events or well-known figures, but through ‘everyday acts of leadership, care, service, creativity, courage and commitment.’ As per the Black History Month official resource pack, ‘across Britain, Black people are contributing through education, healthcare, faith, business, sport, culture, heritage, public service, environmental action, youth work, volunteering and grassroots community leadership.’
We know that Black communities are more likely to be impacted by problem debt, and may be less likely to access support from services that can feel misaligned or insensitive to their needs and experiences. The importance of Black-led organisations that are embedded in their communities cannot be overstated in challenging this inequality.
It feels fitting, then, to highlight the work of Rooted Finance. A Black, woman-led Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated specialist debt advice and financial inclusion charity – as an organisation that contributes so much to supporting and empowering Black people to not only overcome problem debt, but to harness the tools needed to build long-term financial resilience.
Rooted Finance, one of the only Black-led organisations authorised by the FCA in the country, delivers quality-assured specialist debt advice services to clients and communities struggling with multiple debts across London and the UK. With a commitment to co-production with people with lived experience – alongside a deep understanding of complex, grassroots issues around financial exclusion – Rooted Finance works sector-wide to campaign on economic empowerment, working across industries to bridge the gap between the government and communities to effect long-term change.
What makes Rooted Finance unique is how they are embedded in the communities they serve.
As CEO of Rooted Finance, Muna Yassin MBE, recently stated at a webinar for the More Than Advice programme that Rooted Finance is co-delivering;
“Clients come to us because staff reflect their own backgrounds, with interventions provided in a way that is targeted but applicable to everybody, ensuring cultural nuance is applied to service delivery.”
What is More Than Advice?
More than Advice is a two-and-a-half year programme, funded by Impact on Urban Health, that seeks to empower communities to build financial resilience and improve wellbeing. Delivered by Rooted Finance, Citizens Advice Southwark and Brixton Advice Centre, with learning and evaluation supported by Resolve Poverty and the Financial Inclusion Centre, it strengthens capacity to address the wider drivers of debt, giving frontline workers more time to work intensively with clients.
The programme seeks to challenge entrenched inequalities in problem debt and access to debt advice, with a focus on Black and racially minoritised communities.
A key feature of More Than Advice is the additional time and resource available to support clients, with specialist debt advisers and Money Guidance Officers working together to address both immediate debt problems and the wider challenges clients face. This shared approach enables more holistic and continuous support, helping to maintain engagement and reduce the risk of clients disengaging from the advice process.
For Rooted Finance, holistic support means addressing the factors around the debt problem that may prevent a client from achieving a sustainable outcome. Debt rarely exists in isolation, meaning clients often present with a combination of financial hardship, housing issues, welfare benefit problems, poor health, digital exclusion, language barriers and other challenges. The Money Guidance Officer is able to support clients with these wider issues, whilst assisting with income maximisation to empower clients to not only address debt, but to achieve financial stability and confidence.
On announcing the launch of More Than Advice, Muna our CEO said:
“At Rooted Finance, we see how community debt advice reaches and benefits distinct groups and communities in a way that mainstream services simply cannot replicate. Our advisers respond with cultural and community intelligence to solve complex and entrenched debt issues, providing holistic, appropriate support tailored to people’s circumstances. They also act as a “buddy” along the debt journey, making sure clients know that they have support throughout the process.’’
Beyond Black History Month
More Than Advice is committed to testing and evaluating solutions to problem debt, with a focus on Black and racially minoritised communities. As we look ahead over the next two years, Resolve Poverty will drive the learning and influencing strands of the programme, developing robust evidence on how to provide debt advice that remains truly fair, effective, and sustainable, and influencing at the local and national level to mainstream its approach.
Our vision is to shape systems to recognise differing levels of need, ensuring support reaches those most at risk. Honouring our communities means working with communities to create long-lasting change. Centring Black-led organisations, like Rooted Finance, and meaningfully engaging with Black communities to understand what works is central to achieving that.
Find out more about More Than Advice. If you’d like to learn more about the programme or collaborate with us, contact Senior Policy Advisor, Penny, at penny@resolvepoverty.org.
Find out more about Rooted Finance. If you’d like to learn more, or collaborate, contact Projects and Partnerships Manager, Emma, at emma@rootedfinance.org.uk.