02/12/2026
Today I was working on two different grant applications.
Both times I came to the same question:
“How many people do you plan to serve?”
And both times, I paused.
Because the honest answer in mental health is this: the need will always exceed the resources. There are more people struggling than there are funded services available to meet them.
What I am deeply grateful for is that Compassion Counseling does not have a waitlist. When someone reaches out for help, we are able to schedule them. In today’s mental health landscape, that is not something we take lightly.
Still, that grant question isn’t really asking how many people need us. It’s asking how many we can responsibly serve with excellence, with our current staffing, funding, and capacity.
Capacity is not a reflection of compassion.
It’s a reflection of resources.
So we answer thoughtfully. We build sustainably. We steward every dollar carefully. And we keep growing — one person, one family, one session at a time. 💛
- Amy Blackwell, Executive Director
