A survey of community helping agencies in Hastings and district

The activities of 49 community helping agencies providing counselling services in the Hastings district are described in the following report. Of the seventy-one agencies selected to participate in a survey undertaken in 1985, 60 agencies furnished replies. Forty-nine of these organisations agreed that counselling took place either in the course of providing a practical service, or as a major part of their work. Details of their work, training provisions and needs, client numbers, funding, referral sources and liaison activities were supplied. Results showed that across the 49 agencies 526 people were involved in some form of counselling of whom 433 or 82% were females. The largest group in the agencies doing counselling-related work were volunteers, numbering 399. Of these 351, or 88% were females. Incorporated in the body of the report are results which point to a high value being placed on training in helping skills by the agencies surveyed