Page 1542 - Week 05 - Thursday, 7 April 2005
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Lifeline is a vital form of pastoral care, its origins coming from the inspiration of a Methodist, Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker—I think the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Smyth, mentioned this as well—who, drawing from personal experience, decided to reach out to people via a lifeline, giving them the opportunity to call in to discuss issues of concern and just to be heard by an empathetic and understanding person on the other end of the phone line.
From these humble beginnings of a benevolent service in 1958 emerged this unique Australian service, eventually becoming a worldwide organisation with over 300 Lifeline centres operating across 15 countries. Lifeline is a values-based organisation—values that have become the key to the development and recognition of the important work it is faced with. At the heart of this, Lifeline embraces the notion that everyone has the right to be heard, understood and cared for. It is a unique service incorporating one-on-one communication between a counsellor and a caller, aiming to empower the caller with the belief that someone does want to listen, does not want to judge in any way and does want to find solutions to a problem or ways in which to cope with a specific personal situation.
I know that numbers have been mentioned, but it needs to keep being said for the public record that the number of calls to Lifeline in the ACT in 2004 had almost doubled over three years. Mr Hargreaves gave the facts and figures on the staggering volume of calls that Lifeline deals with on an ever-increasing basis, and we should never forget that the demands on this organisation are ever increasing.
What can be of value to government, in some cases, is that Lifeline not only seeks to help people overcome their own challenges in life but also is in a unique position to track the needs and experiences of all callers whilst, of course, still maintaining the integrity of privacy issues. Government can look at this information to ascertain any shift in social trends and to observe how its policy initiatives are working or not working and can therefore improve vital services across, for example, the community services sector in the ACT.
I am sure Ms Porter would agree with me that volunteers are the backbone of Lifeline, as they mostly are in other similar organisations. We all rely on the generous support and effort of volunteers in many of the services and activities in which we engage in the ACT. As highlighted by the United Nations Volunteers, UNV, volunteering brings benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer. It makes important contributions economically as well as socially. It contributes to a more cohesive society by building trust and reciprocity among citizens. Greater significance needs to be placed on how volunteering can impact on public policy and how government can maximise volunteerism as a way in which people can make a contribution to society.
As we all know, giving our time and effort can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. If we choose to volunteer, we can see a real, positive effect on our community and, most importantly, ourselves. This can be seen in context as a lifelong journey of caring, to discover how we as individuals can learn about the different service opportunities available, explore the many facets of volunteering and then ultimately decide on what level we contribute to the greater good of our community.
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