Episode 3: Cost of Living
Hi. I'm Jessica Samuels, and welcome to episode 3 of A Way Forward presented by Beam Credit Union. In this episode, we talk about the cost of living and how we can manage our mental health for a situation that really is beyond our control. CMHA Kelowna CEO Mike Goluch joins me. Mike, I appreciate you being here to tackle yet another really complex and robust topic, the cost of living.
Jessica Samuels:You know, whether or not you feel you can afford it, how big your bank account is, we're all impacted by the cost of living. I don't think any of us can ignore that the cost of living has significantly increased, in the last few years and it is taking a toll on people's mental health.
Mike Gawliuk:Absolutely. I would say, you know, it's kind of the the post pandemic present that everybody's gotten, which is really unfortunate because as, the cost of a living has gone up, as interest rates have gone up, it is is created an environment where, you know, people's anxiety is, is through the roof and, where we see it, especially at CMHA is, the reality that, mental illness and, low incomes are are linked, together. And and as cost of living increases, people that have very little have even less. And so that's looked like things like that talked with staff about, you know, meeting basic needs like food and the decision to go, to the dollar store and, that's that's where you're buying your, that's how you're getting your your nutrition nutritional needs met, which is not particularly healthy in the long run. And, and so it has an impact for sure.
Mike Gawliuk:I think the other thing the cost of living has done when it comes to mental health and access to services is this. It's created some inequities. So for people who are employed that have a benefit plan they can get access to, private supports. But for those that don't, or certainly don't have income to to get to those supports, then they rely on the public system. And what I would say there is that we do have a a public system.
Mike Gawliuk:But during times like this, the demand for those services tend to go up considerably. And as a result, the weight to get services and the type of services that you're going to get look very different depending on, how much money you make and, what kind of benefits you have access to.
Jessica Samuels:So once again, some contributing societal, community based factors as well as individual factors that are exacerbating the issue. Just just to to go back to the beginning part of what you said, what was interesting to me is in my mind increased mental health concerns. In fact, increased mental health concerns. In fact, you know, 33% of Canadians have rated a higher sense of anxiety, depression, higher recent diagnosis of mood disorder. So these are individuals as a result of the cost of living.
Jessica Samuels:So we can agree on that. The point that you started to make, which is something that I hadn't considered, is you're an individual who has a significant mental health concern, a mental illness, perhaps some other health based issues or troubles in your life, and the cost of living is just adding to this burden that you're feeling. And then not only that, you have an overburdened system.
Mike Gawliuk:Yes. I
Jessica Samuels:mean, this is this is a domino effect we're experiencing.
Mike Gawliuk:100%. And, and and it's it's extremely concerning, to see people struggling, the way that they are.
Jessica Samuels:Mhmm. We have the, costs. So you talked about rents and mortgages are kind of the have to haves. You have to be able to pay for a place to live, a home, hopefully for transportation to get to do the things, sometimes to do the things you need to do in order to make money and for groceries. So those, are vulnerable populations, in our community who are already struggling with that.
Jessica Samuels:And then there's also the added idea of, I'm going to call them the supplemental or the nice to haves, that actually do support our mental health as well. So some things like connecting with friends, having fun, even even going out to experience activities. And this doesn't necessarily mean going for dinner or whatever, but accessing our hiking trails. This is also impacting, people's mental health.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. And I think a quote that we talked about was this notion of inflation isolation, and the reality of people not getting together as much as they once did due to the realities of cost of living. And, yeah, I mean, it's a real real double whammy. Right? Like, what the pandemic showed us is that, while social isolation was the thing that was, to keep people healthy, that's the thing that also, is, really not helpful towards people's mental health and isolation, certainly can take poor mental health and push it towards mental illness.
Jessica Samuels:Right.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah.
Jessica Samuels:Yeah. Exactly. It's actually a contributing factor. So the idea being that I don't have the money to go and see my friends or to go, take transportation to an outdoor activity. I need to save this.
Jessica Samuels:And and so you're home alone or you're not having those social interactions and therefore is impacting your mental health. Are there other groups in communities that are notably experiencing, are more vulnerable to this? Because sometimes we know as these larger societal issues take place, we have large, you know, I want to use the term pockets, but I feel like pockets belies like these small little individual folks.
Mike Gawliuk:But these groups of folks who who
Jessica Samuels:are being, impacted more. You talked about of folks who who are being, impacted more. You talked about some of the people we serve here at CMHA Kelowna. Who else in the community?
Mike Gawliuk:I mean, one of the things that because we're so close to it, is the nonprofit sector itself, in a scenario whereby wages aren't always particularly strong in comparison to like government jobs and those pieces of things. That's put strain on on people as well. Sort of leading them to the need to take on, extra work and so, certainly, I've seen people who are like working, 2 jobs at a time and sometimes that means like, you know, 2 shifts a day and, that's just a recipe for, for for burnout. And at the end of the day, it's what's necessary to be able to, not just have the nice to haves, but to to be able to pay for those basic, things that meet your human needs. Mhmm.
Jessica Samuels:Nonprofit sector as well as, you know, the Kelowna, how we are, often described as a tourism town or a town that supports a lot of folks who are on that hourly wage, which any point in time count or any latest study shows that oftentimes that minimum wage or that wage being paid is actually not enough to support. And so you talked about nonprofit sector. In this instance, I'm talking I happen to be talking about, food service workers, but I can imagine that there is a breadth of people within our community that fall within that category. And then we have people who are in fixed incomes, elderly folks, other vulnerable populations.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah, I think certainly what we've, what we've seen is in terms of seniors and and that's not a surprise. It's been certainly in the media is that, for those that on a fixed income, you know, when the cost of living goes up and that fixed income stays the same, it just adds compounds to the pressure and, you know, the conversation about the number of seniors who are at risk of losing the roof over their head is is been something that, has been talked about a lot and it's not something that's, been as significant to concern as it has been over the past couple of years.
Jessica Samuels:And so then as as you're talking about that and things that are within our control and uncontrollable, because that's really what makes this conversation tough. I mean, we're talking about something that, we can't do anything about at this stage. And when I say we, I mean, you and I as individuals, and and some of the topics that we talk about on here feel like they're a little bit beyond our control. But we try to offer resources for people to better manage. The fact of the matter is things are expensive and it's super hard to manage right now.
Jessica Samuels:So just we're kind of prefacing that as as we have this this conversation. So really, as we focus in moving forward, we want to talk about perhaps some resources that can help. And then we actually are going to get into how folks can manage their everyday mental health and well-being. When you're talking about seniors, the first thing I'm thinking about is that affordable housing piece, which we have talked about in a previous episode. And that is something hopefully that we're seeing some incremental reprieve on as as the landscape shifts.
Mike Gawliuk:Certainly, through the through the province and some of the funding announcements around new affordable housing, seniors is a population that's, been identified there. Again, which is encouraging, but it still takes time to get to the place where where that housing is built and available. So there are are certainly moves forward, that are taking place, But it's it's it's certainly is remains a challenge. There's no doubt about that.
Jessica Samuels:Mhmm. Right. Okay. Affordable housing. Another thing to tackle.
Jessica Samuels:Again, maybe listen to a little bit of episode 2 for more about that. In order for folks to who maybe are in their existing homes, and they're feeling that they can't manage the have to haves, so their rent or their mortgage, they're employed. There are some resources out there. One of the ones is Rent Bank. CMHA Kelowna is the operator of Rent Bank here in the central Okanagan.
Jessica Samuels:Talk a little bit about that program because you've been operating that program for how long?
Mike Gawliuk:Since 2021.
Jessica Samuels:Okay. So, let's share a little bit about who the program serves and then maybe some recent wins or success stories.
Mike Gawliuk:So Rent Bank was, launched in Central Okanagan in 2021 after a pilot, in the lower mainland. The idea behind it is to provide people who are eviction vulnerable, those that are maybe 1 paycheck away from losing their home, with 1 a one time no interest loan. In some cases, it can be combined with a grant depending on financial need. The demand has been not surprisingly significant. Last year, there were 511, pre assessments done for the rent bank.
Mike Gawliuk:We gave out just under a 114,000 dollars which affected about 259 people, 80 of which, are children. I think what's important to note about the Rent Bank is we we take a look at the full picture. So when someone comes in and applies for a loan, one of the first things we we we look for and ask for is information on on income and, sort of where they're at. And if, if it's sort of flagged that there's potentially challenges with, financial management or, you know, that there's not a sustainable plan in place. We look to refer people to, to other resources in the community.
Mike Gawliuk:We've got a partnership with Launch Okanagan, which is a program that that teaches financial literacy. Certainly in some cases where people have relied on debt, in order to to pay their bills. It certainly could be, a referral to, debt counseling to try and, help get that situation sorted out. For me, you know, the reality of this is that we're seeing people who, by no fault of their own are finding themselves in, in financial jeopardy. The cost of living is impacting on that.
Mike Gawliuk:But we see people who are with with health concerns, who maybe are off work for a month, and that makes the difference between having enough to to pay that rent or not. People that have experienced, relationship issues and, and maybe a breakup where, that's necessary in order to, again keep that that roof over their head. So it's it's circumstances that are taking place in their life combined with, the cost of living, that we're trying to, impact by, providing people with, with some financial support, to continue to keep that roof over their head.
Jessica Samuels:Right. And BC Rent Bank, as you mentioned, is operated here in the Okanagan. It's all across the province, and so folks can have a look, and go to their website and see if there's a Rent Bank in their community. As are things like like, financial literacy programs. You mentioned Launch, but there are entities, debt credit solutions, out there who really are here to support individuals who are managing the burden of of financial challenges.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. I mean, there certainly are those resources, and that's ultimately for, individuals who, who need that kind of support for those that, are struggling to sustain as a result of, income challenges. You know, they're the resources that we were referred to look a little bit different. It's a referral to the food bank. It's a referral to, like share where they might be able to get clothes or furniture, those kinds of things, where they can get free resources that will help to meet some of those basic needs, that becomes the response there.
Mike Gawliuk:And there is a population that walks in, and applies to Rent Bank that that needs that kind of support as well.
Jessica Samuels:Needs that support as well. And then on top of the other mental health resources and medical resources. Okay, so let's talk about, you know, there's this this tenant, when we're talking about managing mental health, and I always remember this and I say it to my husband, and I'm sure he rolls his eyes and my friends and I say, let's focus on what we can control. And in this particular instance, this is a topic which I think we've we've covered that is not necessarily something that we can control, I can't necessarily control the the price of gas, how much a cucumber costs. You know, I might be able to ask for a raise at work, but then we get into the whole thing about business owners and the challenges with that.
Jessica Samuels:So there are those parts of the solutions. And then there's also how, as individuals, we manage our mental health in this time facing something we cannot control. So in this instance it's cost of living, but really these are gonna be good practices when you find yourself in situations like this.
Mike Gawliuk:Oh, for sure. I I think when we talk about, managing mental health, I mean, especially in a time like this, that's actually something that we do have control over.
Jessica Samuels:Right.
Mike Gawliuk:So there there are things that we can do. Again, talking about connection, reaching out to friends, family, trying to connect, have conversations, really try not to isolate where possible. There are activities that you can do that that don't have necessarily costs attached to it. Go for a walk, go for a run, with friends, in order to to really try to manage your mental health. One of the things that we can do is, sometimes technology plays a role in this in terms of increasing anxiety and so the, you know, the doom scrolling and when you see the stories that come out that are, going to heighten that anxiety, it's it's probably it's probably time to put that technology away and sort of move away from, getting lost and fixated on that because that will just cause perseveration and increased anxiety.
Mike Gawliuk:Mhmm.
Jessica Samuels:And you mentioned when you're talking about technology, but I also think it's outside of technology as well. You know, for those of us who still turn on the TV and are watching, you know, shows or headlines, also, being careful about, what you expose yourself being careful about what you expose yourself out into the community. These are things that we can manage. And in my years at CMHA, Kelowna, what has, always surprised me is that how much these steps that we can take day in and day out or every other day or every other week actually can impact and help us manage and also prepare us for the day forward and prepare and reframe on our outlook. So you mentioned doomscrolling.
Jessica Samuels:If I'm watching know, certain shows and watching the scroll on the bottom of the news, these are things that are giving me a heightened sense of angst and anxiety. And so if I'm going throughout my day with this, going to bed with it, waking up with it, I'm kind of at this level. And then I find out that gas has gone up again. And, you know, they didn't decrease the mortgage rate. They kept it even.
Jessica Samuels:And I was counting on those little extra dollars. Like, these are very real things. So there is a correlation. So you're talking about connection, not doomscrolling. Let's talk about some of those basic tenets of of mental health and what folks need to watch out for for themselves to recognize if this is more than, a momentarily momentary or slight mental health issue and this is a larger mental health concern.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. I mean, I think self awareness in this case and getting a sense of what's happening for you and certainly, for those around you, you know, supporting and giving some feedback is helpful. I think anything that's a significant change, we need to pay attention to. So, like, that includes, like, changes in, in sleep patterns. It, in, it includes, like, changes in, food and how we eat and, and what that looks like.
Mike Gawliuk:Our moods. Right? It can mean, increased irritability or, increased withdrawal from certain circumstances and situations. And so, I think, when we're experiencing things that are out of the ordinary and those last for a period of time, then that's probably the time that reaching out to. In this case, depending on what's available, you know, whether it's supports through your benefit plan or the public system, that's the time, to to ask for help because those are some signs that it may be moving beyond, just managing anxiety to, moving towards mental illness.
Mike Gawliuk:I I think it's important as well that people take care of those things like, you know, diet, exercise, sleep, like trying to to stay within routine, and and and follow through with those activities are things that we know that promote mental wellness Mhmm. And I think are essential, as we, face struggles, whether, again, cost of living or other factors that are impacting on our mental health and wellness.
Jessica Samuels:Right. And I I I love what you said there that this is out of the norm for what is normal for us. So how I sleep or how I eat might be different from yourself or maybe somebody else in our family. And so what is what is normal for me and recognizing and having that self awareness? Just before we wrap up, what can we, where can we direct folks to?
Jessica Samuels:So we talked about the cost of living resources and the rent bank, but let's just really focus on those mental health resources. Obviously, CMHA Kelowna is a resource in our community. CMHA Kelowna is the operator of Foundry Kelowna. There's foundries all across the province. And in episode 1, we talked about youth mental health as well.
Jessica Samuels:What are some good mental health resources that people can access?
Mike Gawliuk:I think one of the things that we operate, is virtual counseling and that's for a population of adults, couples, caregivers, and again, easily accessible virtual based and so I would encourage access to that.
Jessica Samuels:Is that little or no fee?
Mike Gawliuk:It's no fee.
Jessica Samuels:No fee.
Mike Gawliuk:So that's a free service. In terms of the public system, certainly mental health and substitute services are located down on Doyle Avenue through Interior Health. We'll provide information in terms of how to access that.
Jessica Samuels:Yeah.
Mike Gawliuk:But certainly that would be a place to turn as well if you're feeling it sort of go that way. If, and I say if, because not everybody does, if you have a family doctor, talk to your physician, and they can sort of work with you from there, to to move things forward. So those are just some resources that exist. There's a load of private counseling that exists across this community. Again, a number of different places to turn, if you have, the means to do so.
Mike Gawliuk:And, we'll we'll point out a few of those as well.
Jessica Samuels:Yes, exactly. So we may not be able to actively impact the cost of living in our life, but we can impact as individuals how we manage the stress that we're experiencing through cost of living.
Mike Gawliuk:Absolutely. And I think, I think one thing is, hopefully some perspective is that we are seeing slight changes, right? Yeah. Interest rates are starting to come down and it's predicted they'll continue to come down more. Again, from from a housing perspective, we're seeing more rental housing coming online within Kelowna, which means that the vacancy rate is gonna go from what has been unprecedented lows to a little bit more balanced, which will have an impact.
Mike Gawliuk:It's not certainly gonna be the solution for everything, but it does mean that rents are going to come down a little bit. So, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. I know that can feel challenging when you're you're in the moment. And again, when you're in the moment, you know, take us up on some of those resources and some of those things that we've encouraged to maintain positive mental health.
Jessica Samuels:Mike, thank you once again for sharing these resources. And of course, a thank you to our podcast sponsor, Beam Credit Union. Both yourself and Beam Credit Union are making these discussions possible. And in instances like this, when when we have something that is impacting every one of us, this is where I really feel that these come into play and it's important to spend a bit of time.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. I think these are essential conversations. And I think, the opportunity for people to to talk to one another, again, to use this information to help support themselves or someone that they work with or they they they care about. These these are why we have these conversations is to help to increase that level of awareness, provide some tools and access to resources so that people can have, positive mental health.
Jessica Samuels:Beam Credit Union is proud to be a part of communities all across BC, with over 50 branches and insurance offices dedicated to supporting your financial journey. Beam understands financial wellness means something different to everyone, and they're here to help you achieve your unique goals. Whether you're saving for the future, planning your next big step or just looking for peace of mind, Beam Credit Union is by your side. GFCU Savings, Gulf and Fraser, Interior Savings and North Peace Savings are trade names of Beam Credit Union.
