Ards CAB AGM

Ards CAB held their AGM on Friday 10th December at Newtownards Town Hall.

The bureau has seen an an increase in queries over the last 12 months and dealt with over 14,500 enquiries for the year 2009-10. Benefits accounted for the majority of queries and the bureau generated over £1.7million of income for clients in the greater council area.

The guest Speaker at the event was Heather Monteverde, General Manager for Macmillan Northern Ireland, who provided an overview of the service delivery model currently provided by Macmillan and was pleased to report that two new Macmillan CAB advisers had been appointed within the Ulster Hospital during the spring of this year. Heather went on to confirm that the service was meeting a clearly identified need for people affected by cancer.

Left to Right Alan Holt, Ards CAB, Heather Monteverde, Macmillan, Deputy Mayor of Ards Borough Council, Mervyn Oswald, George Mawhinney Chair, Ards CAB, Linda Higginson Ards CAB

Manager Linda Higginson stated ‘Never before has there been such a demand for our services, people are having to face difficulties that they have never had before’.
To address the rise in queries, the bureau is piloting a triage system and is anticipating further increased demand in these difficult times.

Deputy Mayor of Ards Borough Council Mervyn Oswald stated that he was enthralled with the work of Ards CAB and commended the bureau for exemplary services to the community.

Ards CAB Staff

For more information about the bureau and opening hours click here