We're out there, you know. The people who slip through the cracks. The ones that hurt too much to really succeed but don't hurt obviously enough to get help. It's a terrible feeling, to be jealous of someone who's in more pain than you are, just because they have legally mandated support. -- Anon Guest
[AN: Speaking as someone who's lived in the cracks, I get it. It's one of the reasons my pet universe has systems that patch the cracks.]
You can say a lot with small words. "It's going to be okay," is one fine example. So is, "I love you." Can you imagine for a handful of seconds how powerful it is to say, "I need help," when society around us is determined to have us make it on our own? When, faced with being labelled a failure, you are brave enough to say those three small words?
Imagine, in turn, being the poor sod whose job it is to say 'no'. It can break a heart. It can erode a soul. It is not a job for someone who possesses even an iota of sympathy for their fellow beings. Or, if they do, it is a job for the people who find the chinks in the defences woven by red tape.
There's a common lament amongst those who are swept into the cracks of administrivia. "If I were more broken, I would get the help I need." It is the cry of those with work-arounds. Coping strategies. It is the common chorus amongst those who use all their energy keeping up the facade of normalcy for the day, only to crumble into pieces at night.
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