Lifeline has been able to purchase its first permanent digs in Howick Street after almost 40 years in operation, but it has taken a tremendous commitment of time and talent to get to this point.

The new home will allow extra space for training and that means more counsellors to fill the Lifeline rosters and field those thousands of calls from desperate people at their lowest ebb.

And the move to greater security is a timely one, as rarely have the counselling services provided by Lifeline Central West been more important.

Lifeline Central West CEO Alex Ferguson is someone who has witnessed more than most the dark places that people can find themselves in – often through no fault of their own.

And he believes the current drought that is gripping much of the state and most of the Central West is one of the worst on record in terms of risks to mental health.

People who are doing it tough need to know there is someone ready with a sympathetic ear any time of the day or night. That's where Lifeline comes in.

Lifeline telephone counsellors receive thousands of calls for help every year and even though government support has increased in recent times, it still falls well short of what is needed to provide just the most basic service.

That means Lifeline is constantly forced to go cap in hand to the community for extra help, and means the Lifeline executive must spend far too much of their time formulating fundraising projects rather than focusing on helping people in grave need.

This newspaper has argued before that such a situation is simply wrong.

As governments find the cost of mental health care continues to climb, surely it would make sense to direct more taxpayer money to an organisation that is already doing such wonderful work. And it’s hard to imagine a single voter objecting to more money going to Lifeline.

That extra support would reap dividends in terms of reaching people who need help and also allow the Lifeline executive to focus more time on what should be their key work.

It sounds so simple and yet proper support for Lifeline remains so elusive. Something just doesn’t add up.