Written by Nadoya Reid, Communication and Information Officer at London Legal Support Trust
At this year’s Helping Hands Conference in June, the Grow Your own Advice (GYA) explored how tailored and collaborative partnerships are transforming the advice sector. The session explored GYA projects, respectively, involving the Indo-American Refugee and Migrant Organisation (IRMO), Citizens Advice Wandsworth’s Propel project, and Money A+E.
In the session, led by Bruna Boscaini, grow your own advice was defined as an approach to strengthening the advice sector by training and supporting people from local and diverse communities, especially those facing barriers such as lack of UK qualifications. It centres lived experience, cultural context, and community trust, creating long-term support structures ensuring advice services are shaped by the voices and needs of service users.
Inclusive Pathways into Advice
Citizens Advice Wandsworth’s Propel Project, led by Kasia Kuczynska, works with Mushkil Assan, Elays Network, and other local Citizen Advice organisations in Brent and Redbridge, with support from Propel Funding, to recruit individuals who would not otherwise have access to advice sector careers. A collaborative approach is central from joint decision-making to tailored training that adapts to individual circumstances.
Kasia shared the case study of Reshma, a former full-time carer who didn’t believe she could return to work. With flexible training and support, she is now a part-time adviser at Citizens Advice Redbridge, balancing work with caring responsibilities. Stories like hers highlight why inclusive, accessible pathways into the advice careers are essential.
Grassroot approach
Money A+E and Rooted Finance, two black-led organisations, are helping community groups build their own advice provision through their Advice Incubator programme. The programme offers a structured training commitment of at least half a day a week for 9 to 12 months. Training includes both debt and welfare advice, combining formal learning with supervision and observation.
The groups they support are not primarily advice organisations, but small community-rooted groups. By equipping staff and volunteers with advice knowledge, they strengthen local networks and build their capacities to better serve their communities. The Incubator programme has also sparked a grassroots consortium, designed to increase visibility, share resources, and tackle system inequalities together. The support received from Propel and the London Legal Support Trust (LLST) has been valuable in enabling experimentation and learning.
Advice for all
Bruna notes that IRMO is a part of a longstanding partnership with three other organisations, LAWRS, The Baytree Centre, and High Trees Community Development Trust, with Legal Support from Southwark Law Centre. This partnership is called Advice for All. Together they have over 140 years of combined experience working with marginalised or minority communities. Over 80% of the people they support are from migrant or ethnically marginalised backgrounds.
The Advice for All model has four key elements:
- Attract – Paid placements and training pathways that bring new advisers into the sector from underrepresented backgrounds.
- Develop – Building the knowledge, soft skills, and wellbeing of staff and volunteers, not only through legal training but also strong supervision and peer support.
- Learn – reflecting on what is and isn’t working to stay agile, adapt approaches, and strengthen the model
- Amplify- sharing tools, knowledge, and learning with others to grow collective impact and avoid competition between organisations.
So far, 10 trainees have joined two cohorts, supported by additional training in wellbeing and trauma-informed practice to ensure long-term sustainability and quality of support.
Looking ahead
From building diverse pathways into advice to embedding lived experience in service delivery, these projects are helping reshape the sector. GYA is creating a workforce that is community-rooted, resilient, and better equipped to meet the needs of local people.
