During 2011-13, Durham University’s Centre for Social Justice and Community Action, Thrive Teesside and Church Action on Poverty worked with low-income households experiencing high levels of debt in Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees. The project collected detailed financial information from 24 households, offered financial mentoring and ran campaigns on predatory lending.

The project produced a number of outputs over the two years, including a full report, a research briefing, which gives a short overview of the aims, findings and policy recommendations, a film and community mentoring toolkit. The project team are continuing work on high cost credit, with further policy and practice briefings.

For further information, contact: Sarah Banks, Durham University, s.j.banks@durham.ac.uk; Tracey Herrington, Thrive Teesside, traceyherrington@thrive-teesside.org.uk

Articles and book chapter

Pathways to co-impact: action research and community organising. Educational Action Research, 2017

In whose interest? Article in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, November 2013

'Action research for social justice: researching and organisins on household debt' in Hardwick, L., Smith, R. and Worsley, A. (eds), Innovations in Social Work Research: Using Methods Creatively, London, Jessica Kingsley, 2015, pp. 18-39.

New briefings and materials, 2014

Money mentoring: a resource pack (September 2014, 19 pages)

Report of 'Tackling the personal debt crisis in the NE' event (June 2014, 16 pages)

Building financially resilient communities: The need for local action, Policy briefing (June 2014, 2 pages)

Money mentoring: Working with low income households experiencing problematic debt, Practice briefing (June 2014, 2 pages)

Final report, briefings and film, 2013

Debt on Teesside: Pathways to Financial Inclusion. Final report (September 2013, 99 pages)

Debt on Teesside: Pathways to Financial Inclusion. Research briefing (September 2013, 6 pages)

Community Mentoring Toolkit: Working with social excluded households (September 2013, 8 pages)

'Loadsadebt' film calling for better regulation of high cost credit, (April 2013, 4 mins)

Conference presentations/reports

Paper presented at Social Policy Association Conference, July 2012

Newsletter November 2012

Presentations at 'In whose interest?' event, NE Child Poverty Commission, Durham, 15 February 2013

Booklet of mentoring case studies, April 2013

Report of celebratory learning event April 2013

Payday lenders are out of time in their fight against credit cap, article in The Conversation, October 2013

Notes of Debt on Teesside event held on 21st October, 2013, Queen's Campus, Stockton

Tackling the Personal Debt Crisis in the North East Event 27th June, 2014 Report

Credit Union Event Durham 19th June 2015 Brief Report