We See You, We Hear You

The Hit

We all take hits in life – they come in different forms, and from all directions. Nonetheless, a hit is a hit – and it often lands hard. Sometimes it can hurt. Sometimes it can hinder. Sometimes it can just downright put a stop to our activity. Put a damper on life – period.

The kind of hit I'm talking about right now – is to do with what we call the cost barrier. It’s everywhere we go – for many – whether it be the cost of food, the cost of clothing, the cost of housing, the cost of everything. Nothing out there is of any exception. But that’s not the cost we’re talking about right now.

The cost we’re talking about comes with a different kind of hit that is felt across the board and spans the cost of clothing, food, furniture, housing, just surviving.

The cost barrier for a person to access counselling.
How does that measure up with housing, food, clothing, and all the basic needs a person has? It doesn’t have to measure up. It just is. Why is it so important?

The Cost Barrier

People are waiting. People are waiting. Still waiting. And they’ve been waiting for decades, not just a few weeks, or a few months – we’re talking decades. Having stepped back into the arena of looking for a counsellor for someone close – was a stark reminder and reality of what was decades ago, no different – just more of the same.

One’s mental health and wellbeing is everything.

It is affected greatly by not having enough to survive on just for the basic needs in life. But still, people need counselling regardless of their plight – in fact, because of it – they need it even more. Why? How is that going to change things?

The Truth is Simple

Facts are facts. They inform us. They state what is and what isn’t. But truth goes deeper than facts. Deeper than information. Deeper than the intellectual reality.

Truth goes to the inner parts of a person – where they ache, where they hurt, where they hope and long for. We already know the realities out there about the cost of living. The question is: What now?

People Need to be Reached

They have an innate need to be seen, heard, felt – without judgment. They have many layers to peel back beneath the skin-deep surface.

They need to enter into a space without all the hoopla, without the waiting, without the:

• “Sorry, we’re full and the waitlist is several months.”

• “You don’t meet the criteria.”

• “You didn’t fill the form out properly.”

• “You could try ‘so and so’.”

The Gate is Open

I see a gate where there are a ton of people waiting for it to open. They're dishevelled looking. They're waiting to be seen. I've seen someone leaning over to open the latch on the gate. And then I've seen the gate open. They're coming through.

The Reality of Coming Through the Gate

It’s easier for paying customers to come through – though never easy to reach out for counselling. But they don’t face the same cost barrier that most do.

It’s a bold, brave step for many to take – it takes courage. Hope is raised… and then hope is gone: cost, waiting, forms, tick boxes, excuses, promises, gatekeeping, revolving doors.

Whanganui Counselling Services – The Raw Truth & Appeal

It costs to see a counsellor whichever way you look at it. Whether it is money, time, space. It all adds up. We are not a free service.

If you think we’re looking for handouts, think again. People with a cost barrier are calling us. They're not being seen. Kei konei mātou – we are here!

Our kaupapa is fairness, accessibility, and removing the “can’t afford it” barrier. It’s everything we stand on and will not back down from. We see through the lens of – it is your right to access counselling without systemic faults or barriers at every turn. We ‘see’ you.

If you can “see” us, “see the people”, “see the need”, “hear the cries” – if you get a glimpse of what is happening around you – and you would like to help someone through the door, then we invite you to reach out to us. Call us today.

Someone you know needs to be seen.