Lifeline Australia's E-Newsletter

May - June 2006

CEO Message

I recently read an article that epitomised the way everyday people can make an extraordinary difference by being aware of the signs of others in distress, and by taking steps to provide support or to simply listen to the concerns or problems of others.

The story, which originally appeared in the New York Times, tells the story of Mr Chen, a married father living in China who spends his weekends on a bridge 300 feet above the Yangtze River in Nanking, China waiting and watching.

He watches for "people without spirit:" people alone, walking with slumped shoulders: people intent on jumping to their deaths. He has talked or physically assisted down, by his own count, some 42 would-be suicides. He even offers his number to those who he has saved – as a one man counselling service in their time of need.

The article reports that Mr Chen began his vigil after seeing reports about suicide in the news media - suicide is the leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 34 in China - and like in Australia, the stigma around suicide often prevents people from seeking help.

As if Mr. Chen's efforts are not remarkable enough, he is now also joined on his weekly missions by a number of other volunteers – some of whom have previously been “saved” by Chen himself.

I mention this article because it highlights a number of important issues: public awareness, suicide prevention, volunteerism, community action and overcoming stigma.

There are many parallels to Lifeline, we too aim to take action to prevent suicide in the provision of our telephone counselling and suicide prevention services. As an organisation we are continually trying to raise public awareness on issues that affect the emotional wellbeing of individuals and through the use of volunteers and community engagement, we are playing an important part in providing support to people in times of need.

Our e-newsletter this month provides an insight into how Lifeline looks to create community awareness on issues such as suicide prevention. Our newsletter also provides an insight into another role of Lifeline’s, providing emotional support to communities in the aftermath of natural disasters. While you’re reading about Lifeline, please consider the way in which you, as an everyday Australian can also make a difference in providing support or listening to the problems of those you care about.

Dawn Smith
CEO

Cyclone Larry – Outreach for a community in need

Weeks after Cyclone Larry stormed across Northern Queensland; Lifeline continues to offer support and comfort to distressed communities left in its wake. The story of Brenda-Anne Parfitt, General Manager of Lifeline Northern Queensland, is just one example of how Lifeline quickly met the challenges nature set.

For twenty-two days straight Brenda-Anne Parfitt, General Manager of Lifeline Northern Queensland, was on the ground dealing with the human devastation wreaked by Cyclone Larry. She is tired and emotional but above all, very proud of Lifeline.

Within 72 hours of Cyclone Larry ripping through communities north of Townsville, Brenda-Anne was in her car heading north through torrential rain and gusting winds. Her office was a suitcase – no computer; just brochures, notepads, forms, pens – everything she could carry.

At Cardwell she met-up with SES volunteers, who were glad to have her there. While they could deal with the physical damage the people they were encountering were going to need more than a tarpaulin or clean up. Even some SES were traumatized by the scope of the devastation.

Alone and almost overwhelmed by the task, Brenda-Anne continually stopped and talked to people on the streets, handing out information and offering support where she could. After a few hours she knew that the real challenge lay further north where the full force of the cyclone had hit. With the roads blocked to all but emergency traffic Brenda-Anne abandoned her car and hitched a ride north with the SES.

In each community she found more devastation. She acted by door knocking, dropping information at local shops and meeting with community leaders to see how Lifeline could help. By Friday, with the help of a generous donation from the Pilot Light Foundation Brenda-Anne had five teams on the ground. Feelings of grief and were surfacing and people needed someone to talk to. The Lifeline teams set about providing face-to-face counselling and linking people to support services.

The level of effort by Lifeline counsellors cannot be underestimated. They continue to deal with hundreds of referrals from services such as the Salvation Army, St Vincent DePaul, SES, and police, as well as calls from a special 1800 number. In the weeks after Cyclone Larry, Lifeline teams are finding more deep-seated trauma in the community. Staff are ‘red flagging’ people for follow up by the outreach teams.

Brenda-Anne believes that the professionalism and dedication of the teams working on the ground will help people come to grips with the emotional strain of the disaster. She is aware that those who have worked so tirelessly need to rest and take stock. There is much more that needs to be done in Northern Queensland.

National Volunteer Week 2006 – Change your world…start now

national_volunteers_week "Change your world….start now" was the primary message for National Volunteer Week in May, as Australia celebrated and acknowledged the value of volunteers. National volunteer week is an initiative developed through Volunteering Australia. It provides organisations such as Lifeline Australia with the opportunity to promote the importance of volunteering and the chance to say ‘thank you’ to the people that donate their time and expertise to make Lifeline’s services possible.

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, get in touch with your local Lifeline Centre and discover the variety of volunteering opportunities that are available.

A Snapshot of Volunteering for Lifeline

Lifeline has around 10,000 active volunteers around the country.
Volunteering opportunities may include; becoming a telephone counsellor, working at your local Lifeline store, assisting with a Lifeline bookfair, being on a local board or working in other areas of fundraising.
Volunteers are everyday Australians, from all walks of Life, who give up there time to help others and their community.

For more information on volunteering for Lifeline, please contact your local Lifeline Centre. Details can be found on the Lifeline Australia website at www.lifeline.org.au.

Preventing suicide, promoting mental health

Bruce Turley, Managing Director for Living Works at the CMSF.

On the 11th of April the superannuation industry held its key annual event the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF). While this event in isolation may appear to have little to do with mental health, the link between Lifeline and super funds such as the Motor Traders Association of Australia (MTAA) has been vital to the challenge of preventing suicide in Australia.

Lifeline Australia and MTAA’s award winning campaign Read-the Signs, encourages young males in trade industries, to participate in help seeking behaviour and to watch-out for ‘mates’ who may be at risk. The Read-the-Signs campaign was just one of the topics covered in a presentation conducted at the CMSF by Dawn Smith, CEO of Lifeline Australia and Bruce Turley, Executive Director for Living Works. The presentation, covered the disturbing yet important reality of suicide statistics in Australia, what can be done to prevent suicide and how to encourage those at risk, to seek help.

In Australia there are currently over 35 reported suicide deaths every week, making suicide the fourth highest cause of death in the country. For every person that suicides, there are a network of surviving family, friends and colleagues whose lives are affected. The estimated figure for those who are impacted by suicide is around 20,000 a year, Australia wide. These statistics highlight the importance of suicide as a National issue.

By attending conferences such as the CMSF Lifeline aims to create awareness about suicide prevention. Key messages presented at the conference were that; people should try to be aware of the signs of suicide risk in themselves and others, treatment such as counselling and informal support does help those at risk and that information about service options is important. For more information on the presentation preventing suicide, promoting mental health conducted at the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds, visit www.cmsf.com.au

A Lifeline for your phone

Toby Allen of Human Nature

Toby Allen of Human Nature and Dancing with the Stars fame, has been a strong supporter of Lifeline since they days when his Mother used to volunteer as a telephone counsellor. Toby is now has helping Lifeline to promote the sale of Lifeline phone lanyards, in a campaign being run simultaneously by Lifeline Centres around the country. Toby has recently gained much exposure through Prime Television’s reality series “Dancing with Stars”, in which he represented Lifeline Canberra, and danced his way into the semi-finals.

Lifeline phone lanyards can be purchased for $2 from local Lifeline Centres, from Lifeline volunteers in selected shopping centres nationally, or from The Good Guys stores in Queensland.

Please contact your local Centre direct for details on where you can purchase a Lifeline phone lanyard in your local community. More information on the purchase of lanyards an be found at the Lifeline website www.lifeline.org.au/pages/lanyard.php

Lifeline Trainers Workshop 2005

Lifeline Trainers at a workshop session

Lifeline could not exist without the selfless efforts of around 5000 counselling volunteers, so there is an ongoing requirement to ensure quality, up-to-date methods are used to train these counsellors. The second annual Lifeline Trainers Workshop was held in Brisbane on 27 & 28 March 2006. Representatives from 35 Lifeline Centres attended and had the opportunity to network and share ideas with their peers.

Lifeline Trainers are an integral part of the Lifeline network. The role of these individuals is to administer and facilitate training to volunteer telephone counsellors in the 41 Lifeline Centres nation wide. Annual workshops allow for training staff to get together and discuss various issues pertinent to the ongoing success of the Lifeline telephone counselling service. The agenda at this year’s workshop included sessions on new mental health elective resources, new trainers’ qualifications, and an update on software training.

Lifeline CEO re-elected as MHCA Deputy Chair

On Tuesday the 11 April the Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) conducted its annual general meeting and appointed members to its Board. Dawn Smith, CEO for Lifeline Australia was re-elected as Deputy Chair, a position she relishes as it provides Lifeline with an important link with the MHCA - the peak non-government body representing the Australian mental health sector.

Lifeline Australia enjoys a fruitful relationship with the MHCA, who continue to support Lifeline’s goals and services in the community and assist in areas such as government lobbying.