Lifeline Calls For People To Reach Out To Others

• Loneliness and isolation biggest reason people call Lifeline
• Important to re-establish connections
• Invitation to post photos

Lifeline is encouraging people to reach out to someone they haven’t connected with for a while - make a phone call, send a text or better yet, arrange to meet face-to-face.

Lifeline Operations Manager Helena de Fontenay says the last couple of years have been tough for people wanting to stay connected. This was reflected in a 20% jump in calls to Lifeline helplines since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to an average of 10,000 calls per month.

“Loneliness and isolation account for the biggest reason people make calls to Lifeline. Everyone needs to feel connected, but reconnecting is still tricky due to COVID-19. We’re still not back to normal,” says Helena.

“While we can’t provide exact number breakdowns due to Lifeline being an anonymous service and the way we collect data, what we can say is that loneliness is prevalent in callers over 21, compared to those under 21.

“In the calls I took on a recent Saturday night, people were talking about this in the context of issues with family, or struggling to make friends and join groups due to Covid, mental health challenges, addictions and relationship breakdowns.

“Working at Lifeline, you can see how important a phone call or a text is for someone - it can actually save a life.”

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Lifeline is encouraging people to, when they can, book a face-to-face catch-up with that person they haven’t seen in a while. Make the effort, make it special, and make lasting memories.

“The convenience of technology means we don’t often see people in real life. We can reach people more often, and more rapidly, but does that contact mean as much?

“Call someone to say you’re thinking of them or book in to see them. Check in with friends and family, and neighbours that you haven’t seen for a while or the 10th person on your call list,” says Helena.

“Or try getting out and about to places that feed your soul. Connection doesn’t always have to be about other people. It could also be about connecting with yourself by unplugging from things that aren’t important like social media, and reconnecting with yourself to find a greater sense of balance.”

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme is ‘Reconnect – with the people and places that lift you up, hei pikinga waiora.’ Lifeline is inviting people to post photos of places that mean a lot to them on its Facebook or Instagram pages.

“We also want to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on our amazing Lifeline team who have stayed connected and been there for New Zealanders – every single day of the year,” adds Helena.

Lifeline employs more than 70 staff along with a team of 100 volunteers in Auckland and Christchurch who show up to care for everyone that calls - rain, hail, shine and lockdowns.

Whenever you need connection – Lifeline is there.

To help ensure we are always there, donations to Lifeline can be made via its website: www.lifeline.org.nz. Lifeline is not Government funded and all donations go towards funding the Lifeline call centres in Auckland and Christchurch.

Wear your support for Lifeline this year
This Mental Health Awareness Week, wordstohealyou is selling a limited-edition hoodie and donating $20 from each sale to Lifeline.

Designed and made by Brooklyn Engelken, the founder of wordstohealyou hopes to raise $5000 to help Lifeline answer calls and save lives. Featuring the words “The World Is Better With You In It” on the back, the hoodie has the Lifeline phone number 0800 543 354 on the front. To find out more, visit https://www.wordstohealyou.com/shop.

About Lifeline
Lifeline Aotearoa is all about giving hope and saving lives. It’s what our health professionals and trained volunteers do every day of the year. Lifeline receives around 10,000 calls and receives and sends 30,000 texts every month from people in distress. We support an average of 15 to 20 people at high risk of suicide each day.

Lifeline supports all ages across our phone and text services, with text being the most popular way to get support for those under 30-years-old.

The most common issues people talk to us about are: loneliness and isolation, relationship difficulties, clinical mental health issues, anxiety and depression and suicide. With no Government funding, Lifeline is reliant on donations from the public and support from New Zealand business. The more support we receive, the more calls we can answer.

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