Perth Voice Interactive

SUICIDE claims a person a day in WA: it is the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44.

Over the festive period Lifeline estimates it will receive a call every 37 seconds, with one in four callers at imminent risk of taking their own life.

“Christmas is usually a time of family, sharing and giving, but for some people it can be a time of despair, loneliness and isolation,” says WA Lifeline CEO Fiona Kalaf.

“We have launched the Lights for Lifeline campaign to raise funds to train more accredited volunteers who do such important life-saving work.

“It costs $3000 to train each volunteer for the telephone crisis support service, with many months training and one year probation.”

Lifeline manages to answer 90 per cent of calls Australia-wide, but the work is so emotionally intense that volunteers usually work four hours per week.

Over the past 12 months, 57,265 Western Australians called the service, and it received 14,196 online crisis chat requests.

Jo Lockhurt, a “Telephone Crisis Supporter”, says the role requires a unique skill set.

“Being on the phones we cannot see or touch the person in crisis, so essentially you lose two of your senses, you must learn to really listen and be 100 per cent present in every caller’s personal situation,” she says.

“The role requires learning a very unique set of skills, different to face-to-face on-going counselling, hence why the training is so involved.

“You must provide a caller with a safe and non-judgemental space to talk and be heard.”

Lifeline WA patron Kerry Sanderson says volunteers are the “lifeblood” of the organisation and work tirelessly.

“I strongly encourage all Western Australians to support Lifeline’s work to help those in need,” the WA governor says.

For every $50 donated, people have the chance to go into a draw to win a Mazda2 Neo Sedan.

To donate visit http://www.lights.org.au. 

by STEPHEN POLLOCK