According to the American Psychological Association, money remains the number one source of stress for Americans. Finances affect people’s access to food, health care, and housing. Financial strain doesn’t just affect your bank account, it also affects your health.
Greater Nevada Credit Union (GNCU) and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health are partnering to bring together panelists on Tuesday, September 24th to discuss how financial security and literacy play a huge role in an individual’s mental and physical health. We investigated whether it would have an impact.
“If we can reach people at a younger age and help them build a foundation of financial knowledge, we can help them get started, and their parents can help,” said Danny Delarosa, president and CEO of GNCU. I can help.” “We create generational change by helping people from an early age. We see their faces light up as they participate in our financial education programs and succeed and fail in a fun learning environment. It’s very encouraging to see that happen.”
During a panel discussion in which Dela Rosa also participated. Zach Baer, associate dean of the School of Public Health; Travis Walker, Chief Medical Officer, Community Health Alliance; Jim McClenahan, Executive Director of Outreach and Engagement, College of Business; and Cori Fischer, Housing Administrator for the City of Reno, each panelist shared their experience working to support local residents with financial, mental, and physical health challenges. .
Deepening our understanding of the relationship between economic, mental, and physical health was an important part of the conversation.
“As well as emphasizing the importance of financial health and how it impacts your overall life, it’s important to raise awareness of your financial resources,” Bale said. “Right now, we need to continue to share this message. We hope that we can continue to work to uplift our communities in a more holistic way.”
Approaching community health and wellness issues from a holistic perspective was also an important theme during the discussion. Panelists shared optimism about how organizations can continue to work together to improve community health.
“At Community Health Alliance, we look at the social, financial and mental health factors that impact our patients to support the delivery of comprehensive services,” Walker said. “We’re seeing this model grow and thrive in our community and communities like ours.”
“I’m really excited to see the collaboration,” Fisher said. “Before the pandemic, the solution to affordable housing was to build more homes, but now we are exploring more creative solutions and partnerships to address this issue. We are also increasing our funding opportunities at City of Reno Housing Development, with a focus on providing funding to those who help them achieve the American dream of homeownership.”
Experts shared their hopes for the future of addressing health issues and their drivers to improve the health of their communities.
“At the university level, we’re finding that there are gaps in student knowledge and we’re finding that we need to adjust our curriculum to support them,” McClenahan said. “We currently educate students through programs such as new student orientation and money mentoring, which provides basic financial literacy.”
“What gives me hope is that there are so many people in our community who care about each other,” DelaRosa said. “If you can make a difference in someone’s life today, you’ll make a difference in their children’s lives as well, and you’ll see that the impact of uplifting people is multiplied.”
GNCU provides financial resources to people at all stages of life. For more information, please visit the GNCU website.
