Affordability is the buzzword of the moment — you can watch it climb in how often people google the word itself. But the harder measure is what it actually costs to live: the prices we’re all paying for gas and groceries.

Nearly half of Americans — 49% — don’t have the resources to cover their essential expenses, according to the Urban Institute, and gas prices alone are up about $1 per gallon since late February. More people are going hungry now than at the height of the pandemic. And in Detroit, where many residents were already struggling with food insecurity, that squeeze lands even harder.

“When the economy catches a cold, Detroit gets pneumonia,” said Cass Tretyak, an outreach navigator at Community and Home Supports in Detroit.

She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to unpack how economic instability keeps failing people living in poverty — and to describe the daily reality of helping her clients find food, shelter, and benefits, at a moment when new federal rules are making public assistance harder to get.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Have you ever sat in your car in a grocery store parking lot, looked at the receipt, and felt something in your chest tighten?

You’re not alone. Roughly half of Americans say they struggle to afford their rent or mortgage. Food prices rose more than 3% over the past year and are forecast to keep climbing. Total household debt just hit a record $18.8 trillion.

The cost of daily life and the weight of debt are taking a toll on our mental health, especially in a moment when the term“affordability crisis” has entered the national lexicon.

Lindsay Bryan-Podvin is a financial therapist based in Ann Arbor, the founder of Mind Money Balance, and the author of “The Financial Anxiety Solution.” She joined host Robyn Vincent on The Metro to talk about how the financial pressures of this moment are affecting our mental health, and what we can do to feel better.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro