Most financial professionals are prepared for market risk, longevity, taxes and health events. Far fewer have been prepared for the financial disruption addiction can create inside a client family.
Cheryl Canzanella helps advisors recognize what may be showing up in the numbers, ask better questions and understand how to respond without stepping outside their professional role.
“I highly recommend you invite Cheryl to speak to help educate how the opioid epidemic is affecting families, businesses and the industry.”
We crossed paths at 5 years old, became friends at 16 and fell in love at 27. Colin was the light of my life and my soulmate.
For years, he fought to overcome an addiction that started with a prescription for pain. He desperately tried to break free, but the chains of addiction were far more powerful than either one of us could have imagined.
We both struggled in silence for years. After Colin lost his battle to an accidental opioid overdose, I knew I could no longer stay silent. With a career already rooted in financial services, I began focusing on another part of the crisis that received far less attention: what addiction can do to a family's finances, careers, assets and long-term plans.
That is the reason behind this work. I want financial professionals to better understand what families may be navigating, recognize when the financial picture is changing and know how to approach difficult conversations with knowledge, compassion and appropriate professional boundaries.
A financial professional may see changes in a plan long before a family is ready to explain what is happening.
The signal may be an unexpected retirement withdrawal, new debt, treatment costs, legal expenses, a beneficiary change, a sudden loan to an adult child or grandparents unexpectedly supporting grandchildren.
Unplanned requests to liquidate or borrow against long-term assets.
Large or recurring healthcare expenses that were never part of the plan.
New credit, legal bills, court costs or financial obligations appearing quickly.
Changes in caregiving, housing, beneficiaries or support for adult children.
This is not a presentation built around shock value or statistics alone. Cheryl connects the human story to the financial decisions professionals may encounter with clients and families.
Explore speaking programsEach program is built around a practical shift in what financial professionals recognize, understand and know how to do next.
What Happens When Addiction Enters the Financial Plan?
See how substance use disorder can disrupt income, assets, retirement, insurance decisions and family wealth, and why it belongs in the financial-planning conversation.
Recognizing Financial Warning Signs & Starting Difficult Conversations
Learn what financial patterns may warrant a closer conversation, how to ask questions without diagnosing or making assumptions, and how to stay within the appropriate professional role.
Explore treatment costs, insurance, funding decisions, family support, caregiving and the choices that can threaten or preserve long-term financial security.
“May we all take Cheryl’s story to heart and learn how best to financially protect families and loved ones from the damage this disease can inflict.”
“Her commitment to this problem is deeply felt whenever you speak to her. She is an amazing motivational speaker.”
For organizations that want to go beyond a keynote, Opioid Financial Awareness provides education on recognizing financial warning signs, difficult client conversations, treatment costs, funding resources and the broader financial ripple effects of substance use disorder.
Explore Opioid Financial AwarenessTell Cheryl who will be in the audience, what you want them to leave understanding and the format you are considering.