Sharing some Insights on Being a Lifeline Crisis Volunteer During COVID-19
From 5pm-12:30am once a week I attend Lifeline’s offices to answer phone calls and offer support to people who ring in. Why do I do this? I feel that in life it’s important to give back to others and the wider community using the skills at your disposal to help others in need. I’ve been through tough experiences when I was younger that have shaped me into the person that I am today. As I’ve grown into adulthood and reflected on the past, I’ve realised how lucky I am to have had my support network around me. My hope is that through my work with Lifeline I can provide that help to people who feel that they have nowhere else to turn.
Upon arriving to a shift, you never know what kind of situation you are going to be placed into, so you have to be mentally prepared for anything to be thrown your way. One key learning I have taken as a crisis support worker is that we all view the world through our own views and experiences, and that can influence how you react and respond to the callers. It is vital that you need to be very self-aware and non-judgemental; at the end of the day they are calling to be heard. Regardless whether it’s through an anonymous phone call or in conversation with a friend, you need you need to be able to give the help seeker 100 per cent of your unbiased attention when discussing their mental state.
Mental Health is a topic that has always been close to my heart. According to the Black Dog Institute one in five Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any year, while almost half (45%) of Australians will experience a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. During COVID-19 we have received the highest call volumes in Lifeline’s history. To put this into perspective, in March this year we received 88,770 calls from Australians in crisis resulting in a twenty percent jump and exceeding the number of calls received during the recent bushfire crisis. As the number of calls increase and I see the data reflecting the wait times on my screen while on shift, I think to myself:
Please, please, please do not hang up due to the wait time, we care
Please let the callers be safe while waiting
It isn’t easy clocking off at the end of a shift and seeing the number of calls that are still in the queue, but I am reassured to know that as a 24/7 service the next support worker is fresh and ready to listen to the next caller. For anyone who has been on hold with Lifeline in the past or has thought about calling, I would like to share these points with you:
You matter – the amount of times someone calls and apologises for calling and wasting our time is astonishing. We are here for you, 24/7. Your crisis matters no matter how big or small you perceive it to be
You are so brave – to pick up the phone and call takes a lot of courage, and we thank you for that
The change in the current environment is overwhelming and it has changed everyone’s lives and brought a high level of concern and stress to our communities. Be patient with yourself and everyone around you
I wish I could go to you and give you a comforting hug
How can you support people in need?
Educate yourself on the signs that someone is in trouble
Don’t be scared to start the conversation or gently ask them how they are tracking. Ensure you support them on anything they say
Everyone’s crisis presents itself differently; do not feel as though your issue is not worth calling for. We are here to listen to you. We want to listen to you. It is such a privilege to have a stranger pick up the phone and trust us enough to tell us their deepest, darkest points in their life.
Lifeline:
131 114
Beyond Blue
1300 22 46 36
NSW Mental Health Line
1800 011 511
For a full list of services: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/services/Pages/support-contact-list.aspx