No day is the same at Central West Lifeline.
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Volunteers save many precious lives every day just by answering crisis calls ranging from mental health and domestic violence to drug abuse and suicide prevention.
But there is a small crisis brewing within the not-for-profit organisation.
It is not finding enough volunteers to answer 2000 calls it gets every month in the region.
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Central West Lifeline CEO Stephanie Robinson says the organisation is continuously struggling to fill up volunteer positions, mostly in Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo.
”We are at 80 at the moment and we need to recruit 40 more,” Ms Robinson said.
Ms Robinson said the organisation tries to recruit 24 volunteers twice a year in the Central West, but on average only 12 people come through. And of the 12 recruits, only six stay back after a year.
“Volunteering requires a high level of commitment. We lose 50 per cent of people we train because of a change in circumstances like they have kids, new jobs or they move out of town,” she said.
Ms Robinson said the nature of volunteering has changed and people have become busier.
“They are working longer and retiring later.”
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Ms Robinson said volunteering is rewarding, but it could be challenging at times.
“I had a call saying I am giving you 30 seconds to tell me why I shouldn’t jump before this train and I could hear the train in the background,” Ms Robinson said.
“I also had a phone call asking do I wear a black skirt or the red pants today? This might look a bit odd and frustrating. But one gets such people with a high level of anxiety that they can’t make a decision.
“I spoke to her and asked her what she felt like wearing today. I told her to wear the black skirt. She felt relieved and said ‘thank you and I am okay now’. But that’s a crisis to that person. Sometimes people need help to make decisions.
“Every week there are success stories about saving people’s lives. We really need people answering these phone calls.”
Ms Robinson said the most common calls are from depressed and lonely people.
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Central West Lifeline will hold its next recruitment in February.
Ms Robinson said she is encouraging everyone to apply, but the new recruits will be selected following an interview.
She said Central West Lifeline spends about $4000 per recruit for training.
“New recruits, who mostly are uni or TAFE students and retirees, are also supposed to pay the training cost of $500. But the cost is not a barrier and there are options around it,” Ms Robinson said.
Volunteers are trained for 12 weeks before they are put on calls. They receive a full accreditation after training of 10 months or 80 hours.
Volunteers are expected to work at least one shift of three hours in a week or four hours in a fortnight.