Advice/ Information Help Desk

The Advice/Information Help Desk at the Pakistani Community Centre in Manchester, UK is a valuable resource for people in the community who are looking for help and guidance on a wide range of issues. This desk aims to provide expert advice and support on topics such as benefits advice, housing, form filling, council tax, immigration, racial issues, education, IT, health, elderly care, debts, and youth, some of the details of which has been mentioned below:

• Benefits Advice: We can help you to find out exactly what benefits you are entitled to, and assist you in your application. We can communicate with the Benefits Agency on your behalf.
• Housing: We are happy to help you with any housing concerns, such as applying for Council Housing, problems with landlords, neighbours, repairs, rent arrears, eviction etc. We have application forms for Council Housing by City Council as well as other housing associations who provide affordable, rented accommodation.
• Form Filling: Whether you are applying for a passport, a visa for British Nationality, Naturalisation, Work Permits, we are experienced in assisting with the completion of application forms and dealing with all kinds of Immigration enquiries.
• Council Tax: Guidance on council tax.
• Racial Issues: The Pakistan Society have a Racial Incident Reporting Help desk, where our staff can liaise with the Police on behalf of victims of any kind of racial incident, carried out in complete confidence.
• Education: Find out about studying English as a Second Language at a level that suits your needs. We can help your children to access a school of your choice. Find out about the variety of courses at colleges, and further education establishments, or what entrance requirements you need in order to gain access to University. We aim to have a range of college and university prospectuses at our office, and we can order whichever prospectus you wish to obtain.
• IT: We aim help you equip with latest knowledge of information technology, where our members can contribute to build a better community.
• Health: We aim to have a range of leaflets about health concerns and healthy lifestyles and many of them in community languages. We aim to become member of local Health Library & Resource Centre, and so that we can access information for you on any health related topic, in a community language. We have regular short-term projects on health issues, for example, the healthy life style awareness project, a pilot project for elderly people and Women’s Health seminars. This is an area where we strive to keep up to date with new health advice or information.
• Elderly: We support elderly members to socialise, read and eat together and to enable elderly people to access health information and attend keep-fit classes.
• Debts: We can find out what rights you have, and negotiate with your creditors on your behalf. In cases of debt problems, the worst thing to do is nothing, responding to you creditor can help greatly to alleviate the urgency or the debt problem.
• Youth: We aim to organise sports clubs for football, cricket and badminton. There is a new a new multicultural club for girls aged 12 – 15 years, with participation in creative arts. This aim to be facilitated by female youth workers and therefore sensitivity and consideration is provided to girls who are from a Muslim family.

One of the main benefits of the Help Desk is the opportunity for people in the community to receive expert advice and support on a wide range of issues. These services may be provided by trained professionals or volunteers who are knowledgeable about the various issues that people in the community may face. The Help Desk provides a convenient and accessible way for people to get the information and guidance they need, whether they are facing a specific problem or just have questions or concerns.

In addition to providing expert advice and support, the Advice/Information Help Desk at the Pakistani Community Centre may also offer other resources and support to help people in the community. This may include information on community services and resources, such as housing, healthcare, and other necessities. The Help Desk may also provide access to educational materials or other resources that can help people to learn more about important topics and build their skills and knowledge.

Overall, the Advice/Information Help Desk at the Pakistani Community Centre in Manchester, UK is a valuable resource for people in the community who are looking for help and guidance on a wide range of issues. This desk provides expert advice and support, as well as access to a range of resources and support that can help people to navigate the challenges of daily life and build a better future for themselves and their families.