Cambridge CAB manager Marie Payne, early volunteer Vera Fisher, and Cambridge CAB chair Caroline Kitching are calling on others to join the upcoming anniversary celebrations.
Cambridge Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is about to mark its 40th anniversary and those organising the knees-up want to hear from anyone associated with the bureau during that time.
June 14 has been set aside for a celebratory event. Bureau chair Caroline Kitching and manager Marie Payne say the local CAB has much to celebrate and they want former CAB-bers to join them in marking the occasion. Those keen to do so should either phone the bureau or visit their Alpha St office.
The nationwide network of not-for-profit bureaux came to New Zealand on the back of an organisation established in WW11 England to help people cope with the dislocation and trauma of war. The first bureau in New Zealand opened in Ponsonby in October 1970 – there are now more than 80 nationwide.
It was in June 1983 that the Cambridge Citizens Advice Bureau opened, initially in the old courthouse/museum with a shift to Alpha St in early 1993.
Four decades of change mirror societal challenges being faced by many organisations … the reliance on a shrinking volunteer base, the type of issues clients want resolved, and the way information is gathered and disseminated, particularly as it relates to reliable resources versus social media.
Today’s integrated computer system is a far cry from those early days. The digital world has made CAB’s extensive knowledge base instantly accessible to workers and volunteers, and an online service is available to the public almost around the clock.
Vera Fisher was one of the first Cambridge CAB volunteers. When her youngest left home, she took up golf and scanned the horizon for something else to fill her time … CAB fit the bill.
“I came in once a week for a few hours … we had stacks of files in those days and it sometimes took ages to find what you were looking for,” she said, “but I enjoyed working with people and finding solutions for them. Things were a lot simpler then. It was the pre-Google era. People wanted help with anything from finding a lawyer to asking how to make strawberry jam, or just asking what time it was!”
Relationship issues rarely featured back then, she said.
They are commonplace today, Caroline said, along with a host of other complex problems: “One of the biggest we see now are custody issues which go through the family court. We introduced a special ‘family court navigator’ late last year … that has made the information more accessible and the environment more relaxed for the client. “
Other problems they see relate to trees, bonds and boundaries … everyday issues that rile people up. “Sometimes they come in hoping we will validate the action they want to take … it’s just a case of suggesting other solutions to the problem.”
Marie joined CAB in 1997, volunteering for a year before being offered the first ‘staffing’ job there. “I remember coming out of training and being chucked in the deep end,” she laughed. “My knees were knocking … I was terrified.”
Today’s comprehensive training and buddy system eases new volunteers into the role, meaning those armed with empathy, staying power and real desire to help others find they can gain as much satisfaction as they give.
