'I'd rather not leave the house so I don't get into more debt'

'I'd rather not leave the house so I don't get into more debt'Image source, Shaun Whitmore/BBCImage caption, People struggling with finances getting support from debt adviser Teresa Tennant and volunteers at St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston-on-SeaByDebbie Tubby, in Great Yarmouth  and Laura Devlin, NorfolkPublishedJust now"It's awful, it's like a weight on me constantly, and no matter what I do or what I try to do, I always end up back here."Shannon, a 27-year-old mum of one, feels isolated by her money worries, but she is far from alone. Her town, Great Yarmouth, has the third highest rate of people needing debt support in England and Wales, according to government figures.In March 2026, 29.1% of people aged 16 to 65 in the Norfolk coastal town were on Universal Credit, compared with 18.4% for the county as a whole, and 19.2% in England.Image source, Shaun Whitmore/BBCImage caption, Unexpected expenses, such as a broken washing machine, are a constant worry for ShannonShannon first got into debt about 10 years ago when she had to borrow money to buy expensive boots for her job as a security guard.Explaining the day-to-day impact, she says: "I don't want to do anything, I don't want to eat, I'd rather not leave the house because I won't spend money and I won't get in more debt. "So, it's isolating. I don't know, there's not a word for it... it's crippling."She does not seek to blame others but appreciates she lacked life skills around money and budgeting, which could have been taught at school and by family."But because I have to find out things for myself, it kind of went wrong," she explains.She says "there's always something that pops up" that means she cannot get into the black, particularly around her young son's extra needs, which she willingly puts first. "I do hope one day that I can wake up and be like, 'Oh, I'...