JANUARY 2023 saw a record number of searches for support through Lifeline, with over 26,000 people from across Australia seeking assistance, with south-west Victoria no exception.

Lifeline is a charity organisation that offers crisis support and suicide prevention services via phone, text, or online chat, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for Australians experiencing emotional distress.

Geelong and south-west Victoria general manager, Jason Doherty, said a growing number of south-west residents were increasingly struggling to make ends meet leading to a spike in the number seeking support, including in Hamilton.

He said people were increasingly resorting to reaching out to Lifeline for referral services to psychological and financial counselling as well as support on the ground.

“The cost of living has had an impact,” he said.

“We provide the first port of call, when people phone - 13 11 14.

“It’s also (due to) remnants of COVID - there is still some overlay of that - and also the interest rate rises.

“I think the numbers in rural and regional Victoria are high and have been higher for the last two to three years due to the pandemic and other factors. We have not seen a decrease in that in the last little while.”

He said while only anecdotal at this stage, there was evidence of an increase in people using the service for the first time.

“There are certainly a lot of people that have let us know that it is the first time they’ve called Lifeline,” Mr Doherty said.

“They may be seeking financial counselling or psychological support.

“We try and help that person at that time and try and find them support - ongoing.”

Mr Doherty said he couldn’t talk about specifics of individual phone calls or what prompted someone to seek help through Lifeline, but said it was patently clear someone was in crisis if they were “at the stage of ringing”.

“As well as the services provided, it’s just being able to talk through the problems that they may be having at this stage and feeling like they’re in crisis,” Mr Doherty said.

Lifeline has a network of 41 centres, 10,000 volunteers, and 1000 employees.

It is Australia’s largest suicide prevention service provider with over one million Australians reaching out to them for support every year.

Mr Doherty said all the people that answer the phone at Lifeline were volunteers answering one call every 30 seconds.

“Volunteers go through a rigorous training process to be first responders on the end of the line,” he said.

“It’s an amazing fact that the majority of people that answer the phone are indeed volunteers.”

Lifeline Australia’s chief research officer, Dr Anna Brooks, said that financial stressors were not isolated to those who have a mortgage, with interest rate increases generating higher rental costs and other economic pressures.

“Financial stress and uncertainty can contribute to mental ill health,” she said.

“People can experience distress and suicidal thoughts when facing financial stress and uncertainty.”

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that 8.6 Australians die every day by suicide - more than double the road toll - 75 per cent of those who take their own life are male. The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is twice that of their non-Indigenous counterparts (ABS, 2022).

If you, or someone you know are feeling overwhelmed, we encourage you to connect with Lifeline on 13 11 14.