UCA SA - Christmas a time of crisis for many

Christmas a time of crisis for many

Posted Dec 4, 2015 in News

A message from Lifeline Adelaide, a service of Uniting Communities.

At a time when many people look forward to celebrating and spending time with loved ones, there are also many in our community experiencing serious crisis.

The reasons for this vary – heightened feelings of isolation, financial pressures, estrangement from family and friends, mental health problems – and may leave vulnerable people at greater risk of suicide. In fact, studies have shown that rates of suicide increase over Christmas and the New Year.

Suicide is one of our major public health challenges, taking more lives in Australia each year than accidents on our roads. Its devastating ripple effects reach far and wide, affecting family, friends and colleagues, and the wider community.

Lifeline Adelaide, a service of Uniting Communities, has been answering calls from people in crisis for more than 50 years, and is one of the busiest centres in Australia. The service is essential for those who need critical assistance to help prevent suicide.

Lifeline’s trained volunteers answer calls for help 24/7, 365 days a year. In 2014-15, they answered over 34,000 calls – more than 93 each day. They also help people through the Online Crisis Chat service, which averages more than 33 chats each evening.

These numbers will increase in the coming months. Last year, Lifeline Adelaide was busiest from November to February.

“We’re incredibly grateful for our dedicated volunteers but we continue to see increased demand for the service, especially closer to Christmas,” says Danielle Hanisch, Manager of Lifeline Adelaide.

“Each volunteer devotes significant time and effort to complete the specialist training to become accredited, at a cost of $2,500 per person.

“With only partial funding from the state government and Lifeline Australia, the ongoing costs to run Lifeline Adelaide are significant, with each call answered by the service costing $25, and $20 for each online chat.”

The service could not do its vital work without volunteers, but also relies on the generosity of supporters. With this crucial support, Lifeline Adelaide can continue to train volunteers to answer calls from people in crisis and prevent the devastating impact of suicide in the coming months and beyond.