by Julie Estlick

最近，当玛丽和一个因经济困难而感到精神紧张的人交谈时, she imagines them bobbing in the deep blue ocean, ready to slip under the waves and she is throwing out a lifeline. As a consumer credit counselor, 她认真倾听，并提供具体的解决方案，让她的客户在一场使许多美国人的预算陷入困境的大流行中回到坚实的基础上.

U.S. 成年人报告说，在COVID-19大流行开始之前，他们对个人财务状况感到非常焦虑和压力, according to a George Washington University study, 大多数参与者表示，疫情加剧了他们的财务焦虑. After 18 months of uncertainty, increased unemployment, decreased wages, and lost health insurance for millions, many families have burned through their savings, and a growing number are frightened about losing their homes.

“受到COVID的影响并不是经济上不负责任,” says Melinda Opperman, 非营利性消费信贷咨询服务公司(CCCS)的总裁兼首席关系官. “寻求帮助并不可耻，有很多项目和服务可以帮助你.”

Opperman代表着全国各地帮助人们摆脱债务的机构, repair their credit, and find long-term solutions to financial problems, including housing. 咨询、预算规划和金融教育服务都是免费的. 债务管理项目收取少量费用，通常通过项目节省的费用来抵消.

Last year, CCCS served over 29,000 people nationwide. The average client had around $62,信用卡账单和医药费等无担保债务, with a total of seven creditors. (房屋抵押贷款和汽车贷款是由资产本身“担保”的债务, which can be taken if the owner doesn’t pay.) Anyone can receive confidential support from CCCS, you do not need to be a citizen, and no 政府ernment benefits will be impacted. 接受一对一的帮助也没有最低收入或债务要求.

它是这样运作的:在你向你的注册财务顾问提供一些基本的收入和支出信息之后, 他们将与你和你的债权人设计一个计划，其中可能包括较低的付款, lower interest rates, 或者免除滞纳金，作为协议的一部分，在五年内还清债务(有时更早). 辅导员也会检查是否有资格获得医疗保险费用方面的帮助, 食物, 以及其他你可能没有意识到你可以使用的安全网项目.

During this unusual time, CCCS的员工接受了特殊的同理心培训，并使用了预防自杀的工具，以便与深受疫情影响的来电者一起工作. “我认为我们的顾问是财务上的第一响应者，”Opperman说. “For many people, 财务顾问是他们第一个谈论他们的焦虑和财务担忧的人. 有些人感到极度失落和绝望，他们的悲伤是深刻的.“我们鼓励客户在适当的时候寻求心理健康顾问的帮助.

事实上, financial problems can often lead to intense mental, emotional, and even physical responses that should not be ignored, mental health experts say.

Action brings relief

Embarrassment over high credit card debt, fears about large student loans never getting paid off, and regret over past money decisions are very common, says Jennifer Dunkle, 专门从事金融治疗和心理健康问题的专业咨询师. “I try to help my clients realize that they are not their debt, they are not their net worth statement, and their debts and assets do not equal their value as a person.”

虽然这可能会让人不舒服，但讨论金钱问题可以改善我们的幸福感. 这是因为推迟财务担忧意味着存在“一个常数”, 潜在的压力和紧张感，我们希望会神奇地变好, but in actuality won’t get better until we face it,” Dunkle explains. “对我们来说，‘已知’的现实——即使令人不快——实际上比‘未知’的现实更容易应对.’ ” For example, 把信用卡债务和其他债务加起来，看到白纸黑字的数字，意味着这是一个可以处理的问题, rather than an ongoing source of anxiety.

In the past year, 邓克尔曾为那些因经济困难而遭受恐慌症的人提供咨询. 但她也看到，当人们开始采取行动时，他们会有一种极大的解脱感. “相信我们可以做一些事情，比如要求并获得债务延期，这有助于我们获得信心. 当我们采取积极主动的步骤来帮助自己而不是让事情发生在我们身上, 无助和绝望的感觉减少了.”

Housing help

Loss of shelter is an enormous stressor, 尤其是在房价飞涨的Front Range地区. GreenPath Financial Wellness对住房咨询服务的需求增长了50%, a national nonprofit with a branch office in Fort Collins. “对房屋驱逐和止赎的担忧通常与个人债务问题密切相关,” says Jeffrey Arevalo, 拥有超过15年经验的GreenPath认证财务顾问.

Colorado, like many states, 正在努力将联邦紧急资金送到受COVID-19影响的租房者和房主手中. 还有时间申请最多15个月的过去援助, current, 以及未来的付款——通过科罗拉多州紧急租赁援助计划, 包括可以代表租户申请的房东(请参阅参考资料框).

所以，如果你在经济上捉襟危肘，可以从下面的资源中寻求帮助.