A new information point for the Sheffield Credit Union opened on Monday this week at The Meeting Place here at Christ Church.

The formal launch was by Clr Alan Law, the current Mayor, pictured here.

Also in the picture are the volunteers who have been trained to provide the new service from The Meeting Place; John Cornell, Sarah Knightley, Pam Jowett and Sean Senior.

Quite a few people came to share the opening, including staff from the library and the housing department and other bodies with whom we have consulted during this process.

The Meeting Place is the new project to support people in the town who want to make more friends and connections.  The new Credit Union service was developed by Sarah Knightly the Meeting Place Co-ordinator, and John Cornell, the lead for the church on The Meeting Place.

It can be very difficult for people on low incomes or with difficult banking history to access banking services to save or borrow.  The Sheffield Credit Union is based in the centre of Sheffield, so we thought it made sense to try again to have an access point in Stocksbridge, to replace the one that used to exist.  People can join, be supported to use the facilities, be issued with a card and save and use the card at local pay points, including the Co-op.

The Isolation Working Group, which is a council body with which Christ Church works closely, supported this development.