WCC move-a-thon raising funds and awareness of the services available
CALLING ALL DANC ERS, RUNNERS, BIKERS, rowers, walkers… if you can move, the Woolwich Counselling Centre needs you.
The centre is running a move-a-thon to raise awareness of their services and also to raise funds to help pay for counselling sessions and community workshops.
Since the pandemic began, staff at the centre have seen a 40 per cent increase in the use of their services. This comes to about 5,000 counselling hours provided for approximately 1,000 individuals each year, notes Amanda Wood-Atkinson, the centre’s executive director.
This 40 per cent increase over the pandemic is consistent with other agencies in the same sector across the region, she said.
Wood-Atkinson says that while the pandemic has increased anxiety, depression and stress, it has also increased awareness of mental health needs.
“Just like we would take care of our physical needs, and we might go to see a doctor, I think the pandemic has really helped society at large to recognize that mental health needs are equally as important, and that mental health is health.”