Wesley Mission Annual Report 2020 - Flipbook - Page 44
Supporting communities through
drought and fire
In October 2019, Wesley LifeForce brought
together leaders from suicide prevention networks,
including 38 communities that had been affected
by drought, for a two-day conference to share
effective local strategies. Responses from network
members was produced that was provided to the
National Mental Health Commission.
In early 2020, networks affected by devastating
fires met in a series of roundtable discussions in
New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia to
share local perspectives and to develop strategies.
Conference empowers suicide prevention
at a local level
Held in Hobart in October 2019, the Wesley
LifeForce Conference brought together 145
delegates including Wesley LifeForce Network
representatives, Wesley LifeForce staff, key suicide
prevention stakeholders and community mental
health organisations to connect, share, learn and
advocate for suicide prevention services within
Australia’s diverse communities.
The conference had a two-fold purpose, firstly, to
develop a strategy to engage high-risk
communities and, secondly, to provide support to
representatives from across the country, who work
at the coalface of suicide prevention.
Memorial services remember loved ones
Hosted annually in Sydney, Lake Macquarie,
Brisbane and Darwin, Wesley LifeForce Suicide
Memorial Services provide an opportunity for
people affected by suicide to reflect and support
each other together in a spirit of comfort and hope.
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People in distress
turn to Lifeline Sydney
& Sutherland for support
“Shoalhaven has 49
towns and villages
and more than 70
per cent has been
burnt. It impacts
every school,
workplace,
business… it is
really hard to find
someone who
hasn’t been
impacted to reach
out to for support.”
It was 1.45am. And Ken was close to finishing
his second training shift with his supervisor, as
a volunteer Crisis Supporter for Lifeline Sydney
& Sutherland, when a call came through.
Lifeline Sydney & Sutherland, as part of Lifeline
Australia, have received a steady increase in calls
since late 2019 as bushfires, COVID-19 and
economic downturn impacted Australians’
wellbeing.
“Common concerns we heard from callers
included feeling alone and isolated whilst
staying home. Others have reported distress
over losing a job and feeling hopeless about
securing work in the next six months,” said
the Rev Keith Garner.
Wendi, Shoalhaven
Suicide Prevention
Network
Lifeline began at Wesley Mission in 1963 and
spread across Australia. Today, Wesley Mission
still operates Lifeline Sydney & Sutherland.
Suicide prevention skills training
for General Practitioners
Suicide Prevention, collaborating with
older people in Independent Living Units
Run as a co-facilitated workshop by an accredited
Wesley LifeForce trainer and a General Practitioner,
our course has been accredited as Continuing
Professional Development by the Royal Australian
College of General Practitioners and The Australian
College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
As people move into older age there is evidence that
transition points experienced along the way can
cause distress. These can include, transferring to
independent living in a village, losing a life partner,
experiencing inhibiting or terminal illnesses that
threaten an individual’s life or that of their partner,
narrowing and reducing social connections and the
activities in which they can participate in.
Professor Morton Rawlin surveyed past
participants and found that 97 per cent of
participants found the training helpful and
95 per cent of participants said they used
the principles from the training in their
day-to-day practice.
Ken devotes almost four
decades to volunteering
Wesley Mission has been trialling initiatives in our
villages as part of the Older People’s Mental Health
Resilience Program. Research conducted in the last
year recommends a model of care for future
implementation that complements current services
to support residents’ wellbeing.
The Lifeline network has been taking on average
3,000 calls a day, a significant increase on the
same period last year. Volunteer Crisis
Supporters have committed to additional shifts to
answer the increase in calls.
“COVID-19 has been the greatest challenge that
Australians have faced since wartime, and we
must do all we can to protect the vulnerable in
our society who are hardest hit and will
experience the negative impacts of this crisis long
after the majority of our society has recovered.
Volunteers are playing a significant role in
responding to this crisis,” said Mr Garner.
A young woman, calling from a telephone
booth, was drinking from a whisky bottle and
began sharing her intentions for when the
bottle became empty.
In 19/20, we supported
28,759
calls answered by Lifeline Sydney & Sutherland
73%
of calls were suicide related
“Many callers don’t really want to die even
when they express that intention,” Ken
says. “It is a call for help.”
Ken and his supervisor spent the next hour
and a half talking to her, all while obtaining the
telephone booth’s number to give to police,
who handled the situation from there. No doubt
Ken and his supervisor’s actions that night
saved this woman’s life.
When asked why he’s been volunteering for
Lifeline Sydney & Sutherland for the past 37
years, Ken’s answer is simple, “to help the
caller”. It’s what first drove him to volunteer and
continues to motivate him to this day.
Grace, Lifeline Sydney & Sutherland
Community Engagement Coordinator, says,
“Simply by showing up to his shifts, Ken makes
a difference in countless people’s lives. He is
available for those who need him, and he never
tires of the mental load.”
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