As Canadians, February can be one of the hardest months. It’s when the wounds of the holiday credit card bills are still fresh and taxes for the upcoming season need to be prepared. Financial stress may be at its peak. According to Statistics Canada, over 1.4 million senior Canadians reported feeling lonely. The loneliness and depression in seniors can lead to other health problems such as an increased risk of depression, cognitive decline and illnesses like coronary artery disease.

This is the perfect time to reach out to the seniors in your life. During these cold months, many seniors may remain indoors to avoid the bitter cold. The days are long and dark and seniors may have less family visiting, which also adds to their loneliness. Add the financial stress and February can become a very depressing and tough time for seniors.

So how can you help?

Many seniors are still not fully versed on a CHIP Reverse Mortgage, and in fact they continually have the wrong impression of the product. The CHIP Reverse Mortgage through Dominion Lending Centres, allows Canadian seniors to do the things they love to do, like travel with family or entertain more often at home.

In fact, data from a recent report on the use of funds of reverse mortgages in Canada shows that the top reasons for a reverse mortgage, are as follows:

• Debt – Debt relief or debt consolidation
• Health Care – Health care expenses, medical emergency or support work to pay off debt related to health care.
• Renovations – Home retrofitting or home renovations to help improve standard of living.
• Income Supplement – Clients use reverse mortgage funds to supplement their income. Whether they are still working or already retired, savings may not be sufficient to ease financial insecurities.
• Living Expenses – Daily living expenses such as groceries and household bills such as phone and hydro.

The cold months don’t need to be long and depressing, it can be a time of change and opportunity and a time to uplift seniors introducing them and educating them about the CHIP Reverse Mortgage solution. If not, simply lending an ear to listen to them can make all the difference in uplifting their spirits.

We all have the power to be the helpful hand so be the sunshine for other during these colder months!