Sherbet, the charitable arm of leading high court enforcement specialists Shergroup, has now given a helping hand and practical support to more than 300 debtors in serious financial hardship.

Most recently it has helped an unemployed mother whose son has mental health problems and is asthmatic. They had to leave their last home in just the clothes they were wearing after suffering appalling levels of domestic abuse.

“Often the straw that breaks the camel’s back for a single parent, who has so far managed to balance the household budget, is the breakdown of the fridge, the cooker, or the washing machine, which they can’t afford to do without, but they also can’t afford to replace,” says Claire Sandbrook, Chief Executive of Shergroup and founder of Sherbet.

“In this case, we were able to help by providing a new vacuum cleaner – a simple gesture that has gone a long way to counter the build up of dust in the home that was causing her son severe breathing difficulties.”

Claire says that Enforcement Officers are often in an ideal position to assess the financial stability or otherwise of a debtor. To this end, Shergroup has developed an ‘Insight Process’ into the debtor’s circumstances to recognise the signs of genuine hardship: “The Insight Process is based upon using the time an Enforcement Officer spends with the debtor at their home to evaluate if the family could use a helping hand,” Claire says.

While it may seem to some to be a small gesture, it can make all the difference as Claire concludes: “Sherbet can help them get back on track with a one off replacement of that vital domestic appliance. The debtor can then endeavour to keep within their budget and out of the courts – to the benefit of everyone.” For information on how you can support the work of Sherbet, please contact the charity by email using the online enquiry function on the website (www.thesherbetfoundation.com), or you can contact Claire Sandbrook direct on 0845 890 9200.