Good in a crisis? Lifeline needs your help

You can help Lifeline Northern Beaches provide support to help-seekers during their most difficult moments by becoming a volunteer Crisis Supporter. Applications are now open for the next Lifeline training course, beginning Wednesday, 7 September.

“Lifeline Northern Beaches answers more than 65,000 calls each year to 13 11 14, which is more than 5% of the calls received by Lifeline through the national network of more than 40 centres,” says David Thomas, CEO of Lifeline Northern Beaches. “Our team of trained Crisis Supporters do a fantastic job, enabling us to create connection with people in crisis and make a positive impact in the lives of tens of thousands of help-seekers every year.” 

Lifeline’s Crisis Supporters answer calls and texts to Lifeline’s 24-hour services after undertaking a nationally recognised training program that takes 14 months, called CSWT Workplace Training. The training comprises three stages: blended learning, student placement and internship. Essentially, this provides students with a progression from a supervised role to an Accredited Crisis Supporter role.

So, what’s it like being a Lifeline Crisis Supporter and why does someone become a volunteer? Lifeline Northern Beaches has more than 600 volunteers, with over 200 Crisis Supporters from a huge variety of backgrounds but share one thing in common: a desire to help others. “I’ve been through crises of my own in my life, and I wanted to try and help other people get through hard times and realise awesome things in life that maybe they didn’t foresee coming,” says Benny, who has been volunteering for just over a year. “I grew up on the Northern Beaches and I wanted to give something back to my community to try to prevent suicides in the future,” says Jackson, a Lifeline volunteer for around four months. “It feels absolutely amazing when you feel like you’ve made a difference in someone’s life on the phone.”

But being a volunteer at Lifeline is not without its challenges. Volunteering is a significant time commitment. Shifts on the phones are typically four hours long once every two weeks between 6am and 10pm, plus there are ongoing professional development and supervision requirements. “Expect challenges,” says Monica, a volunteer for more than 25 years. “The callers are diverse so remember to be empathetic with them. However, Monica also says that being a volunteer is extremely rewarding and will change your life for the better.