With the change of season upon us we also have a change in our lockdown restrictions. The winter chill is here but hopefully this will be offset with an increased warmth in our hearts brought about by interactions with friends and families now possible with the easing of restrictions.
In the words of Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changin’. With change comes hope. Hope that things will be better somehow. That Jobseeker will get fixed. That we as a nation will restructure our economy to be greener, and kinder to the less privileged – our clients amongst them.
These changes may or may not come about in our country, but at the very least, it looks like financial counselling will continue to extend its reach and grow as a sector. This means a bigger voice and greater impact.
Whilst there has been a dip in referrals for a lot of agencies, the feeling out there is that what we are experiencing is comparable to a tsunami. Currently the water has receded, and we are bracing for when it surges back in. All indications are that economically the hard times are ahead, especially when people exhaust their hardship with the banks, and JobSeeker and JobKeeper are rolled back. So it’s time to batten down the hatches and prepare ourselves for what is coming.
If we can be grateful for something it is that we have time to prepare for what is coming. We can also feel grateful that both State and Federal Governments are looking to our sector to be part of the solution.
FCVic is receiving funding in a package developed by the Department of Health & Human Services, as part of the State Government’s response to COVID-19, to help flatten the mental health decline curve. It is well established that there is a comorbidity between financial hardship and poor mental health outcomes. This opportunity reflects increasing recognition of financial counselling as an essential social support service and an opportunity to not only lift mental health skills and knowledge of financial counsellors, but to include financial counselling as part of mental health services as we advocated in our submission to the Victorian Government’s Royal Commission into Mental Health. On top of this financial counselling was recognized in an energy support package developed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. This includes funding for additional financial counsellors, and for FCVic to coordinate and advocate on energy issues. There is hope that we will secure further funding to assist with other pressure points for our clients in the coming weeks.
FCVic and its Board are mindful that now, in the lull, it is time to get our house in order and as such Sandy has written to the heads of the financial counselling agencies in Victoria, following up on the Counting the Costs report and seeking their assistance in making sure things are sustainable and workloads are safe for when the waters come rushing back in.
When the waters come back in and people are thrown in the deep end, we will need to line up all the supports we can to help people in hardship stay afloat.