Since the big banks announced mortgage deferrals that allow home owners facing financial pressure as a result of the pandemic to skip payments for up to six months, hundreds of thousands of Canadians have scrambled to apply for the program.

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David O’Leary, founder and principal at Toronto-based fee-for-service financial planning firm Kind Wealth, wanted to do something constructive as the COVID-19 pandemic began to disrupt people’s lives. So, as businesses closed their doors and layoffs spread across the country, he launched the Coronavirus Relief Effort to offer free personal finance consultations for anyone struggling with the economic impact of the pandemic.

“Obviously, people are concerned and have a lot of fears. And as financial planners and financial advisors, there’s an expertise and a skill set we can bring to the table,” Mr. O’Leary says. “I don’t expect we’ll be able to solve a cash-flow shortage, but we [can offer] words of advice, a non-judgmental ear to listen and a framework to help [people] think about how to make decisions.”

Rona Birenbaum, founder and certified financial planner at Caring for Clients, a fee-for-service financial-planning firm in Toronto, also saw Mr. O’Leary’s call for volunteers and got in touch.

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As the coronavirus continues its global spread, Canadians are worried not only about their health but also about their retirement plans. Many people’s hard-earned investment portfolios have already taken a beating as stock markets plummeted this week over concerns of the virus’s impact on the economy.

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