Crosslight Advice

Who we are

Crosslight works to lift people out of poverty and help them build a better future. We long for our communities to flourish and for no one to be left behind, and our vision for our staff and volunteers is more than just a job, it is an opportunity to make a difference. We ask our team to be our ambassadors, to use their time, skills and passion to Restore Dignity and Renew Hope for those in need.

Crosslight was born out of the ministry of the local church and retains a strong Christian ethos which informs and underpins the values by which we operate. We believe that every person has been made in God’s image and is therefore uniquely valuable and worthy of the highest respect. Our calling therefore is to work in partnership with local churches and community organisations to serve anyone in need, irrespective of their race, gender, religion, sexuality or any other characteristics.

We seek to bring renewed hope to people affected by financial difficulty and caught in apparently hopeless situations. Together with our partners, we strive to effect lasting change and increase the capacity of our clients to realise their full potential.

With over 30 locations in London and the South, we work with some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in society. Through our community-based, person-centred programmes we provide comprehensive debt & benefit advice; build financial resilience through money skills education and budget coaching; and mentor clients with open-ended holistic support to increase their mental wellbeing and social mobility. 

1) Advise: We provide comprehensive debt and benefit advice, focusing on the unique circumstances of each individual. The end-to-end support we provide includes in-depth casework for the most vulnerable. We act as advocates for our clients, working at their pace and adapting to their individual needs and abilities.

2) Equip: We seek to create lasting change so that our clients can face the future with more confidence and become better equipped to meet their full potential. We do this through tailored one-to-one budget coaching and our money skills programme, including our new Cost of Living Toolkit programme. We run these both face-to-face and online (as either live workshops or simple video-led self-study).

3) Encourage: Our aim is to go beyond crisis advice and support clients throughout their journey. We achieve this by taking a genuinely holistic approach which includes mentoring, befriending, social-engagement and encouragement - empowering them to turn their lives around and realise their potential.

4) Resourcing Others: We also seek to build community and support those in need beyond our catchment areas by making our money skills resources and training available to other organisations and community groups through our online leader’s hub. Likewise, our free, online Budget Builder (web and app) enables anyone to build their own household budget and use it to manage their money more effectively day-to-day.  

Our culture and values

Crosslight works alongside clients for as long as it takes to improve their situations. We support some of the most vulnerable in our communities through our holistic, person-centred approach.

Personal not prescriptive – much advice is becoming more generic in its delivery, with a focus on information rather than individual advice. In contrast,our service is tailored to the individual, meeting them at their point of need and working at their pace. Our service is flexible and adapts to the needs ofeach individual.

Outcomes not volumes – many agencies are more focused on meeting volume targets. In contrast, we want to ensure all our clients get the support they need to move beyond a current crisis. We are therefore more interested inthe progress ofeach individualrather than showing off our client volumes.

Time to give not timed-out – many advice providersaretime-limited in the support they give. In contrast, we support some of the most vulnerable in our communities, many of whom struggle withvery complex circumstances. We therefore aim to support our clients for as long as theyneed to remainengaged with us.

Big picture not just the big problem – most of our clients come to us at a point of crisis, often with a number of main issues that they need support with. But where we can, we always seek to go further, to look at the big picture beyond the immediate crisis and support our clients as they deal with the underlying causes of their difficulties.