Lifeline South Coast responds to record calls in 52-year history

The service had seen a significant increase in calls from late 2019 as the Black Summer bushfires affected many communities and regularly saw a 25 percent increase in demand compared to early- and mid-2019.

Lifeline South Coast CEO Renee Green said it was an accumulation of challenging events creating an increase in calls.

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"As more and more challenges are thrown at people, that's when they need to reach out and seek some help," she said.

"There is general anxiety about a case coming to the region and having to go into lockdown, and the uncertainty and unknowing during the pandemic takes it's toll."

Across Australia, August 5 was Lifeline's busiest day on record with 3425 calls for help.

But Ms Green said while the increase in calls meant people were struggling, the organisation was heartened by the number of people reaching out for help.

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"The messages are getting through: it's ok to reach out for help, and that, to us, is a good thing," she said.

"It's so important no one feels they have to suffer in silence through the isolation, anxiety and uncertainty of the pandemic, and we are heartened that so many in the South Coast are reaching out for support."

With the increase in callers, Lifeline has brought on more volunteers to help provide the service.

"It is a challenge that many of our volunteers are themselves facing lockdowns and restrictions," she said.

"But we have a fantastic team who work with us, and we've been increasing our training capacity to ensure we have new people coming on board to help.

"We are delivering our training virtually because the demand is so high, we're very keen to get new people on board as soon as possible."

For details on upcoming training sessions visit the Lifeline South Coast website.

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