Heartfelt messages of thanks from people seeking Lifeline’s help.

Impact Report

AUTUMN 2020

Latest updates

How you answered Ben’s call at Christmas

--------------------Sarah’s new

found support--------------------

Your support will bring a year of

innovation--------------------

Meet Brendan – crisis support for

our farmers--------------------

CEO message

Lifeline is a remarkable organisation, built by passionate people and exceptional supporters like you. Travelling around our centres, I’m amazed at the commitment of our staff and volunteers who continue to profoundly affect countless lives.

Thanks to your generosity the same can be said of the exciting, game-changing advances we’re working on to ensure no one who contacts Lifeline is left alone. As well as new, improved technology for our 13 11 14 phone line, we’re also set to expand the new text program that’s had phenomenal results in trial – with 42% of participants advising they would not have contacted Lifeline if the text service had not been available.

Around half of people seeking help on the textline were under the age of 24, and a third were from regional areas.

Given that suicide is the leading cause of death for the 15 to 44 age group in Australia, the aim is to expand the Lifeline Text into a 24/7 service, to reach this new group.

The stories in this newsletter highlight why I find it a privilege to work in this remarkable place at this pivotal time. I am immensely grateful to people like you, whose energy and support sustain us.

With warmest thanks and regards,

Colin Seery Chief Executive Officer, Lifeline Australia

The story we brought you at Christmas of Ben and his family touched your hearts so deeply that you responded with incredible compassion and generosity.

Because of you, we exceeded our target of $165,000. Thank you for making it a reality.

As you may remember, on the outside Ben appeared to have it all: a successful career, happy marriage and three beautiful children. But on the inside, Ben was falling apart. He never imagined he would be so overcome with pain and suicidal thoughts that he would end up in hospital.

Though he didn’t know it when he called Lifeline, Ben was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, caused by his previous military career. As he explained,

“I saw the worst of humanity, and the horrors that humans are capable of inflicting on themselves.”

Your generosity and compassion help people find new possibilities. These heartfelt notes written by some of the people you have supported this year say it all:

How you answered Ben’s call at Christmas

Heartfelt messages

Lifeline is an invalua

ble

service and their

services are amazing .

Ben endured a continuous cycle over ten years where he’d feel positive for a while, but then it would slowly change.

One Sunday, a minor argument flipped a switch. He stormed out of the house.

“I rang Lifeline and said, ‘I’m not really sure why I’m calling’. She said, ‘That’s alright. That’s normally how the conversation begins.’

“I burst into tears. That call set into place a course of events that ended up saving my life.”

Thanks to your support, Ben’s call was pivotal. We know talking to people when they’re at crisis point saves lives.

Ben knows how close he came to taking his own life. After time in hospital, Ben achieved his goal of coming home for Christmas, and can’t believe how strong his wife Jodie, has been.

He also knows that every call answered by Lifeline can save a life.

“Reach out. Start the conversation. You never know what you’ll discover. And if it can help you and your family, then isn’t that a good thing?”

I phoned Lifeline because I felt like taking myself out of this situation in life. She saved my life and understood the issues that I was struggling with.

Thank you for saving my life.

Thank you for the support you have given Ben, his family and so many others who call Lifeline every day. It has an enormous impact.

In Lifeline’s Holding on to Hope podcast, Ben courageously talks about the personal crisis he experienced, and his journey to recovery. Listen at www.lifeline.org.au/podcast.

Lifeline is grateful to all our interviewees who share their stories to inspire others.

Ben and Jodie are so thankful for your incredible support.

Ben credits his call to Lifeline as saving his life.

It’s a pleasure to share some of these messages with you. We hope they give you a sense of the enormous contribution you make in ensuring we are there when people need us.

There’s nothing quite like seeing a dream become a reality. Thanks to you and your support for Sarah when she shared her story last year, we will be able to train more Crisis Supporters in 2020.

You raised an incredible $313,637 to help us answer thousands of extra calls to support people in distress. We can’t thank you enough.

You may recall, Sarah was in a perfect storm. She had moved to a new city, away from friends and family. She was working long hours, worried constantly about money, and had just had a terrible fight with her partner. One rainy Saturday she was alone in her car, feeling more overwhelmed than she’d ever felt.

“I was screaming, hitting the steering wheel. I felt really lost, and like it wouldn’t matter if I stayed that way.”

You gave Sarah new-found hope

Sarah is so thankful for your generosity.

That’s when she called Lifeline. She can’t remember what she said to our crisis supporter, but she does remember how they made her feel.

“She talked to me like I mattered. It made a big difference.”

Your incredible support takes us a step closer to our vision of an Australia free of suicide. Thanks to you, now we can train more crisis supporters, like the one Sarah talked to.

Sarah wanted to share this note with you:

All of your volunteers are really good, and I will probably ring again on and off for the rest of my life. I have made some donations to Lifeline this financial year and will continue to do so.

“I’m so happy to help by sharing my story. It makes me feel really supported, knowing that so many people donated. I’m doing pretty well at the moment, working full time. It has been over two years since I was suicidal. It’s not always easy, and I def initely have days where I struggle with depression and anxiety. The difference now is that I have better coping skills. Part of that is knowing I can call Lifeline if I need to. I don’t have to have those moments on my own.”

As a supporter of Lifeline, you understand the courage it takes to seek help when in crisis.

Rural Australians are known for their resilience, but the prolonged drought that we are experiencing has really put this to the test.

Brendan manages a 50,000 hectares sheep station where he lives with his wife, Jacinta, and three children. He describes with disarming honesty the stresses of rural isolation and farming in the drought, which spiralled him into depression.

Brendan is bravely sharing his story to encourage men and women in the bush to reach out and ask for help.

“Taking the first step took all of my strength. Accepting and admitting something was wrong.

Droughts are evil things. You don’t so much fall into a drought as ease into it. I always refer to it as a disease. You can have the best plans in place, but if droughts last long enough, they’ll take you down paths you’ve never been before.

And the unfortunate thing is, most people end up dealing with a lot of death. Death is part of farming, and it always will be. Some people have the ability to deal with that, some don’t.

In our domain, on our farms and stations, we take great care of our stock and our pets. When that’s compromised, it’s difficult. You’re not human if it doesn’t affect you in some way.

I started drinking more, self-medicating – not knowing what could help me. I think that was my lowest point. You lose that clarity of thought, and in doing that, your ability to make good, sound decisions.

You start doubting yourself, thinking, am I going to lose the property? Where do I send my stock? It might be too late, as they’re now too poor.

I had so much going on in my brain for a very long time. I thought I was walking around being normal, but I was internally combusting.

I remember standing in the doorway, looking at my wife and my heart went berserk. I thought I

was having a heart attack. That was a trigger point.

It took all my strength, but I started the conversation.

When I found out I had a form of depression. I felt an enormous weight off my shoulders because I then knew what was going on. And I could access the tools to help me.”

Lifeline is committed to providing support services to people in their moments of greatest need. Right now, our men and women in regional Australia are in crisis and need our support.

Brendan now volunteers for Lifeline in Broken Hill. He travels to remote cattle stations to check-in on the wellbeing of isolated farmers and share his experience, coping strategies and the importance of seeking help when needed.

In addition to our phone crisis support and web chat, Lifeline has developed a Drought Tool Kit specially designed to help those living in drought affected areas to care for themselves and those around them.

Thanks to your support we can be there help our fellow Australians in the bush and save lives.

Your kindness is helping people in the bush like Brendan.

Meet Brendan, crisis support for our farmers

Thank you.Written and prepared by Lifeline PO Box R1084 Royal Exchange NSW 1225 P 1800 800 768 E giving@lifeline.org.au W lifeline.org.au

41% of you believe that the most important role

Lifeline plays is helping people facing

a crisis to cope.

Your feedback is making a real difference.

Our supporters have been hugely impacted by suicide, with more than half of survey

respondents sharing that they or someone they love has been impacted by suicide.

It’s most important to you that Lifeline is

available 24/7

Over 600 of you were willing

to share your personal stories with us.

64% of you actively recommend others to contact Lifeline – for this, we say

THANK YOU!

Thanks for participating in our recent supporter survey.Here are some of the key insights you shared.

You believe Lifeline gets most of its funding from donations, op shops and book fairs.

42% believe the top priority

for Lifeline is that anyone can access Lifeline in any

way, at any time.