It's midnight on Christmas Eve. Many of us are fast asleep, or finishing last-minute preparations.
But not everyone.
For thousands of Lifeline Crisis Supporters, it's the start of a six-hour crisis support shift, offering desperately-needed hope to people in distress.
Because as much as we want Christmas to be joyful and exciting, it can also be a time of deep sadness and despair. Loneliness can feel sharper. Loss and grief might hurt like no other time.
Between midnight and 6am on Christmas morning, on average, 42 people in Australia will attempt to take their own lives. Tragically, an additional two attempts will be fatal.
Restrictions are easing, but the unprecedented volume of calls to Lifeline is not. It's a sobering reminder of the ongoing ramifications of COVID-19.
This Christmas, we're expecting the highest number of calls to Lifeline of any festive season prior—calls from people like 17-year-old Philip, who has suffered serious depression and anxiety for the past three and a half years, and has called Lifeline several times.
His mum, Jo, says that without Lifeline, there is a very real possibility that she could have lost her son forever.
Lifeline wants every single person who courageously contacts us to know that we'll be there for them every single day of the year. But we can't do that without you.
That's because over Christmas and the New Year, it's especially difficult to have enough volunteers for the public holiday and overnight crisis support shifts. Volunteers are the backbone of our organisation. Without them, there would be no Lifeline. But at Christmas time, we have to work differently. We pay for critical shifts to be covered, ones such as the early hours of Christmas morning.
We need your help to raise $260,000 to meet this additional but necessary outlay, as well as the ongoing costs to ensure that our phone, text and online chat crisis support services remain free to anyone who needs them.
Jo told us recently:
“I don’t know who donated the money that meant my son’s crisis call was answered. Or whose generosity helped cover the costs of training the Crisis Supporter he spoke to. But the chances are it was you, or someone like you. And I want you to know that I'm forever grateful."
Please give what you can. It's been such a long, tough year, and your special Christmas gift could take someone who is struggling safely through the festive period and into the New Year.
If you or someone you know needs crisis support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (available 24/7), visit www.lifeline.org.au/gethelp or reach out to us via our text service on 0477 13 11 14 between 12pm - 2am AEDT. We’re here for you.