Bridging the Gap: Why Angels Connect Must Be Part of Every Frontline Response to Poverty and Crisis
Across the UK, demand for advice services is soaring, and the systems meant to help people navigate hardship are buckling under the pressure. Foodbanks are overwhelmed. GP surgeries are stretched. Mental health services are running at capacity. And beneath it all lies a silent emergency: millions of people are struggling with unresolved issues around debt, benefits, housing, and access to justice.
The advice sector is in crisis. But what if we could make it easier for people to get the help they need, before they reach breaking point?
That’s exactly what Angels Connect is designed to do.
The Hidden Emergency Behind Every Front Door
Advice isn’t optional, it’s life-changing. But in the UK today:
- Nearly half (47%) of adults have struggled to access the advice or support they needed in the last year.¹
- More than 14 million people live in poverty, including 4.2 million children, with rising costs driving more households into debt.²
- StepChange reports that demand for debt advice has returned to pre-pandemic highs, with over 400,000 people seeking help in 2024 alone.³
- Citizens Advice handled over 6.5 million advice issues last year—but couldn’t meet all the demand.⁴
For every person who gets through, many more don’t.
That’s where Angels Connect comes in.
A Smarter, Simpler Way to Help People Access Advice
Angels Connect is a digital referral and triage platform that brings together charities, public services, faith groups and advice agencies to offer seamless access to expert, face-to-face support with:
- Debt and budgeting
- Welfare benefits
- Housing and homelessness prevention
It’s more than a referral tool, it’s a community-powered advice gateway, designed by and for those working on the frontline of poverty.
Built by experienced advisors and community leaders, Angels Connect removes the guesswork and gatekeeping that too often delays vital support. It empowers trusted local partners – whether that’s a foodbank volunteer, a school support worker, a church leader, or a GP receptionist – to connect people directly with trained advisors.
No endless forms. No broken signposts. Just timely, dignified, and effective help.
Why This Matters Now
We know from lived experience: people don’t just attend foodbanks for food or crisis support, they come because they’re lost in a maze of systems. Many are facing multiple and compounding issues that won’t be fixed with a food parcel or a one-off voucher.
But advice services are hard to access, and even harder to coordinate.
Without a shared system to refer into, organisations are left trying to make connections informally, often depending on “who you know” rather than what a person actually needs.
Angels Connect changes that. It creates a shared digital infrastructure across sectors, allowing organisations to:
- Make secure, trackable referrals
- Tailor support based on need and capacity
- Understand patterns of demand through local data
- Strengthen collaboration without creating bureaucracy
For overstretched public sector services, it offers early intervention that can reduce long-term costs. For charities and churches, it strengthens missional outreach and social impact. And for advice providers, it ensures referrals are appropriate, complete, and timely.
Backed by Frontline Experience. Built for Systemic Change.
Angels Connect isn’t theoretical. It’s already working.
Launched in North Liverpool and now expanding across the region, and indeed the UK, in it’s short lifespan the platform has facilitated hundreds of referrals into debt and welfare advice – helping people avoid eviction, challenge benefit decisions, escape illegal lending, and access what they’re entitled to.
Behind every referral is a person like:
- Sarah, a single mum signposted by her local church through Angels Connect, who accessed £8,000 in backdated disability payments.
- Dave, a foodbank client referred by a volunteer to a debt advisor, who avoided homelessness through a breathing space intervention and Discretionary Housing Payment.
- Anjali, an asylum seeker connected to immigration advice through a refugee support group, who secured Leave to Remain and access to public funds.
Every connection is a step toward stability, and dignity.
Why Your Organisation Should Get Involved
If you work in housing, health, education, advice, justice, or community engagement, Angels Connect was built with you in mind.
Whether you’re a foodbank, church, social prescribing team, community navigator, or support worker, this is your invitation to be part of something transformative.
We are actively inviting charitable, faith-based, and public sector partners to:
- Embed Angels Connect into their referral processes
- Empower staff and volunteers to signpost effectively
- Join a community of practice focused on solving poverty together
Book a Demo or Conversation
We’re offering free demonstrations and introductory sessions for organisations and teams who want to understand how Angels Connect can work for them. We can present to groups, boards, or leadership teams – either in person or online.
📧 Or email us directly at hello@angelsconnect.org
Let’s build something better, together.
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Sources
The Advice Gap: Access to Justice Foundation, 2024
Joseph Rowntree Foundation UK Poverty Report, 2024
StepChange Annual Statistics, 2024
Citizens Advice Annual Report, 2024
