Let’s be honest. Everything costs more right now. Rent, daycare, car insurance, even that coffee you swore you’d stop buying.
Somewhere between the grocery store and the gas pump, a lot of us started doing math we never signed up for. Some of us do it again at 2 a.m. You open your banking app and close it just as fast. Dinner becomes “whatever’s in the freezer.”
And the numbers back you up. In a 2026 survey, 58% of U.S. workers named cost of living as their biggest money stress. So if your budget feels like a group project nobody else showed up for, you’re in good company. This isn’t about bad budgeting or one too many lattes. Prices simply moved faster than most paychecks.
Then came the job shake-up. Federal workforce cuts since early 2025 have reached communities across the country. By late 2025, federal jobs nationwide had dropped to about 89% of their January levels. Places with lots of federal workers, like the D.C. region, took the hardest hit. Contractors, small businesses, and service workers felt the ripple too. Even folks who still have jobs are side-eyeing every all-staff email notification.
What This Does to Us
Here’s what I see as a therapist: money stress doesn’t just stay in your bank account. Uncertainty follows you home. You notice it in restless nights and short fuses. Maybe you snapped at your partner over the running the faucet while brushing their teeth. Some folks stop answering texts from friends because outside cost money. Kids pick up on it too, even when we think we’re hiding it well.
For a lot of people, losing a job also means losing a piece of who they are. Work can everything and when it disappears, that’s a real loss. Call it what it is. Grief doesn’t only come with funerals. It also shows up with layoffs, lost routines, and plans that suddenly don’t add up.
Studies have also linked financial strain to depression and anxiety. Persistent money problems can start to feel like personal failure, and that feeling just feeds a negative mindset. Plenty of us grew up believing that struggling with money means we did something wrong. That story keeps people quiet right when they need support the most.
The Hard Catch
Now for the cruel part. The moment you often need support the most, is also when therapy can feel the most out of reach. Many laid-off federal workers lost their health insurance along with their jobs. In a 2022 national survey, 37% of adults said cost kept them from mental health care. Others start therapy and quietly stop when a copay becomes one more bill they can’t cover. Progress stalls right when it’s starting to build. No one should have to choose between groceries and getting better.
That’s not okay with me, so I started the Welkin Community Care Fund. The idea is simple: those who can give make it possible for others to stay in care.
How You Can Help
If you’re in a good spot right now, this is your chance to pass some of that along. You don’t need to be wealthy to make a difference.
Your gift keeps care within reach for someone running on fumes. A small contribution can cover a copay so a session doesn’t get canceled. Bigger gifts can sponsor full sessions for someone without coverage. And monthly giving can keep the support steady. Think of it as a subscription that actually changes lives.
Businesses can join in too! Our sponsors are recognized on our website, blog, and social media. Want your company to show up for its community? Let’s talk.
Hard seasons are easier when we carry each other.
Give to the Fund
Need Support Yourself?
First, take a breath. That part is still free.
You deserve care, and therapy might be more affordable than you think. Reaching out isn’t a sign you’re failing. It’s a sign you’re paying attention.
Welkin Wellness offers virtual therapy across Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and New York. Sessions are available in English and Spanish. We’re in-network with Aetna and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Since sessions are virtual, there’s no commute or parking to budget for. Show up from your couch, your car or your lunch break.
Get Started
Sources
DC Office of Revenue Analysis, November 2025 Employment Report
American Psychological Association, Stress in America 2024, via Stacker
KFF Health News, Job Loss, Mental Health and the Fate of Federal Workers
National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 2022 Access to Care Survey
Welkin Wellness is a for-profit practice. Contributions are not tax-deductible.
