Mr Mutch was part of the first cohort of clients when Dunedin’s Mirror HQ opened.
The service, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary yesterday, provides counselling around addiction, mental health and family harm for people between the ages of 12 and 25.
"The reason I got into this work is because when I came here as a client, I had various standout moments with my counsellor," Mr Mutch said.
He expressed his interest in working in mental health during his counselling sessions.
His counsellor told Mr Mutch he once lived a similar life to him.
"That gave me that hope and that push to pursue my studies," Mr Mutch said.
"So whenever I think about why I do it or anything like that, it’s providing that hope for people."
His favourite part about his role was giving other young people those same "hopeful moments", he said.
"In my previous life, I kind of accepted that I was at the bottom of the ladder.
"The people that I talked to here showed me that the choices that I’ve made aren’t permanent — there’s never anything that is permanent."
Mr Mutch said there was no shame in reaching out for support.
"It can be terrifying, but it was the best decision I ever made."
In 2014, the trust behind Mirror HQ was awarded a contract to be one of just two pilot sites in New Zealand providing a Youth Exemplar Service.
Mirror HQ director Deb Fraser-Komene has been working with the trust for 29 years and was a part of the group that set up the HQ 10 years ago.
"We think it’s quite important to mark the milestone of 10 years because we were one of the only two initiatives like this that took place in the whole of New Zealand," she said
Because Mirror HQ had its own child and adolescent psychiatrist, clients could get psychiatric evaluations and care straight from the HQ.
Ten years ago there were not enough resources to assist children and young adults who were some of the most vulnerable in the community, she said.
Since then, the service had continued to develop and evolve to meet the needs of youth today, Mrs Fraser-Komene said.
Although mental health was more talked about and accepted today, substance use still had a stigma around it, she said.
"People who have substance use or addiction issues are often treated really poorly and marginalised and not seen as contributing to society in any way.
"There’s a whole background to why that person’s got to where they’re at — no child is born with an active addiction. It’s completely out of their control."
