What it is
A park has benches on it. People sit down next to each other and talk about nothing much, and the town is better for it. This is that, over the phone.
You pick a time that suits you. At that time we ring you, and we talk about the day: what's in the paper, what the weather's doing, how your team went on the weekend, what's on around Rockhampton. About twenty minutes. Then you get on with your day — and if you'd like another one, we book it there and then.
It's free. There's no charge for it, there never will be, and nothing about it is a way in to something you pay for.
Connection is the cornerstone of a park. It shouldn't cost anything to sit on a bench.
How it goes
- You tell us when Your name, a number, and the times of day that suit you.
- We ring you At the time you asked for. If you miss it, that's fine — we'll try again, and you can always ring us back.
- You have a yarn About twenty minutes about the day. Book another whenever you like.
What it isn't
We want to be exact about this, because being vague about it would be the unkind thing to do.
- It isn't counselling.
- It isn't therapy.
- It isn't a crisis service.
The person ringing you is from our admin team. They're good company and they're not clinicians, and they won't pretend otherwise.
And here's the part that matters
If the conversation ever turns out to need more than a chat, we won't leave you holding it on your own. We'll help you find the right door — counselling, your doctor, or one of the lines at the bottom of this page — and we'll stay on the phone with you while you do.
That's a promise, not a disclaimer. Everyone who takes these calls is trained in exactly that handover, and it's the only part of the job we're strict about.
And you don't have to take our word for how strict: the checklist our callers work to is public — every script, every rule, including the ones for the hard moments. We'd rather you read it than wonder.
Who it's for
Anyone eighteen or over who'd like a yarn. That's the whole of the list.
You don't have to be going through anything. You don't have to explain why you'd like a call, and you won't be asked. "I fancied a chat" is a complete answer, and it's the most common one there is.
This one is built for adults, so you do need to be 18 or over — the park has other things made for young people, and they're built differently on purpose. You'll tick a box to say you're 18 or over when you book. We take your word for it: we're a community organisation, and asking someone for ID before they're allowed a conversation would make a nonsense of the whole idea.
Something to talk about
The Fairpaddock is the park's own community paper, and it writes itself three times a day — morning, day and evening. Plenty of people have today's edition open when we ring and read us the bits that caught them.
Have it open, or don't. Either way there'll be something to talk about.
What we keep
Your name, a phone number, and the time you'd like a call. That's it.
We don't keep a record of what you talked about. Nobody writes notes on your conversation, and there's no file with your name on it — because you're not a case, you're someone who fancied a chat.
Book a time
Ask for a call
Name, a number, the times that suit you, and anything you'd like us to know. It takes about a minute, and someone gets back to you to confirm.
Or just ring us and say you'd like a yarn.