All volunteers are welcome but Lifeline South Coast is particularly interested in recruiting and reaching more men in 2018.
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On Friday the organisation’s acting CEO Clare Leslie talked up Lifeline’s relationship with BlueScope Steel in the hopes it will open the door to more male volunteers joining the crisis support service in Wollongong.
This focus on men also hopes to address the “sad” statistics which show that of the 2866 Australians to suicide in 2016, three quarters were males.
...Of the 2866 Australians to suicide in 2016, three quarters were males
“What’s really important about this training course is it is funded by BlueScope Steel and it allows us to focus on recruiting and reaching men,” Ms Leslie said.
“BlueScope obviously have a very male-dominated workforce and sadly in suicide statistics men account for a lot of the deaths.
“We also know that the largest group of people to die by suicide are men that are employed at the time.
‘So we want to be able to use this [training] opportunity to reach men, both to come and volunteer with us and to call our service.
“They are a hard group to reach at times but having male crisis supporters on our service can help a lot.
“Some men can relate and feel a lot more comfortable talking to another male so it is really important for us as well to make sure we are filling that need.”
Ryan Breslin, who has been a Lifeline volunteer telephone crisis supporter for two years, encouraged more men to follow suit.
“It’s definitely one of the most rewarding things that I’ve done,” the 23-year-old said.
“There are definitely hard shifts but you get a lot of good shifts and that makes it all worthwhile. I would encourage everyone to give it a go.”
Australian Steel Products for BlueScope Steel chief executive John Nowlan said suicide – the leading cause of death for Australians under the age of 44 – was a “very real issue for the community”.
“That’s why the BlueScope WIN Community Partners program is pleased to have been supporting the suicide prevention work of Lifeline South Coast in our local community for many years,” he said.
“The Lifeline training course develops valuable skills in local people to build a stronger and more supportive community.”
Last year, Lifeline South Coast answered 23,533 calls on the 24-hour telephone crisis support service.
But more volunteers are needed if the local charity is to answer more calls and help save more lives.
An information night on the latest training course will be held on Wednesday, March 28. More details on Lifeline’s website.
Ms Leslie said Lifeline South Coast was looking for men and women to train, adding Telephone Crisis Supporters receive extensive training in a vast range of areas and don’t go onto the phones until they have the skills and support they need.
Taking calls from Helensburgh to the Victorian border, Lifeline’s 24-hour telephone crisis support service number is 131 114.