Lifeline Australia

Lifeline was established in 1963 and is Australia's largest mental health support service provider. Located across 60 sites nationally, Lifeline offers a number of services to the community including:

• 24 hour phone counselling
• Face to face counselling
• Lifeline Information Service
• Web based referral database
• LivingWorks Suicide Prevention Programs
• 250 retail outlets – selling second-hand clothing and goods.

Most well-know for its phone counselling, Lifeline answers more than half a million phone calls each year with approximately eleven thousand volunteers taking calls and working in the retail outlets.

It's reported that 1 in 10 Australians has a long term mental or behavioural problem, and in addition:

• 62% of people don't seek help
• 2101 deaths from suicide were registered in 2005
• More than 800 people under 35 die by suicide each year

This is why the MLC Community Foundation is excited to be supporting Lifeline Australia. Also, the MLC Community Foundation and NAB is supporting Lifeline's Stress Down Day, held annually in July each year.

Specifically, the MLC Community Foundation is making an investment in the future provision of Lifeline’s 24 hour Telephone Counselling services nationally. Focusing on:

1. The introduction of a national telephone counseling training curriculum for all telephone counsellors which reflects recently adopted standards of competency in telephone and crisis counseling.
2. Establishment of an on-line training portal and specific professional development activities for Telephone Counselling trainers in Lifeline Centres. This will include production of printed materials, training aides, on-line skills based training and scenario based training for use by all Lifeline Trainers.
3. Development of a suite of national practice notes and guidelines on the assessment of suicide risk, utilisation of crisis counseling models to explore keep safe action plans and protocols on gradations of intervention.
4. Enhancement of the Lifeline national website to include the use of interactive technologies and linkages i.e. web based self assessment and support tools.
5. Investment of funds into the Lifeline National Sustainability Fund to contribute towards the on-going technology costs for the 13 11 14 service for the future.
   

Go to Lifeline Australia for more information about Lifeline and the relationship with the MLC community Foundation.

For information on Lifeline's Stress Down Day visit Stressdown.