Beating the Crunch

If out shopping recently in Oldham Town Centre, you are more than likely to come across balloons, face-painted children, and a white bus parked just outside Spindles. Do not be alarmed because this is the Credit Crunch Roadshow.

The Town Centre played host to the Roadshow, a six-day event offering essential practical advice about jobs, housing, childcare, benefits and more.

Funded by Oldham Partnership and the Credit-Crunch Rapid Intervention Fund, the town’s distinctive ‘Credit Crunch Bus’ brings together a great number of helpful agencies and schemes, including Jobcentre Plus and the Citizens Advice Bureau. All of this under the rousing banner of ‘Beat the Crunch’.

Although only into its first day when I saw it, the Roadshow appeared to hit the floor running, offering helpful face-to-face advice to a good number of Oldhamers.

For example, Sandra Green, 33, had only just been made redundant and was anxious about applying for Job Seekers Allowance. Indeed, before visiting the Roadshow, she admitted that she "didn’t know where to go".

Thankfully, an advert brought home from her young son’s primary school introduced her to the Roadshow, and she was able to get a helping hand from one of the projects many experts.

The most impressive attribute of the Credit Crunch Roadshow is undoubtedly its family-orientated nature. Whilst adults and parents can receive important credit crunch advice from the specialists, the younger members of the family are kept entertained with face-painting, badge-making and games, courtesy of the Oldham Play Action Group.

Of special note is the ‘Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees’ competition, which involves the children making their own suggestions for how to save money during ‘the crunch’. "Turn the Telly Off!" being a particularly good proposal.

Monday not only saw the opening day of the Roadshow, it also featured an appearance from Oldham Council Leader Howard Sykes.

As Chair of the Credit Crunch Cabinet, Cllr. Sykes played a leading role in the planning and organisation of the Credit Crunch Roadshow, and was in an optimistic mood as the event got under way.

Speaking about the recession, Mr Sykes said that he was "pleasantly surprised" by Oldham’s positive reaction to the current economic climate.

The Council Leader went on to celebrate and stress the importance of the town’s "grit, determination and optimism". In the face of what could be, for many, a financially chilly winter, the Credit Crunch Roadshow certainly echoes Councillor Sykes’ sentiment; bringing grit, determination, and especially optimism to the streets of Oldham.