Lifeline Calls You was a 4 week trial that took place at the end of 2024 where a Lifeline crisis supporter called participants twice a week to connect and listen to participants. There were also optional topics to discuss to support people to identify coping strategies and improve their wellbeing.
Sixteen participants completed Lifeline Calls You (“completed” meaning the participants chose to have 5 or more of the 8 calls) and attendance was high overall, with 75% of participants completing seven or eight calls.
We were very grateful to hear feedback from many participants about their experience of the trial. This was essential for us to understand what was helpful and what was not about Lifeline Calls You. This will inform how Lifeline improves their offers of different services.
What did we learn from the trial?
Most participants said that Lifeline Calls You made them feel cared for and valued and overcame the barriers and stress of initiating a call.
The trial was most supportive for people who had started thinking about or making positive changes in their life. A participant said: 'Having someone walk alongside and encourage you and support you and challenge you in the right ways.'
The 4 weeks was seen as the right length for most participants, and it ended well because of the transparency upfront about the length.
Most participants said it would have been easier to have a call within a smaller window (less than 2 hours), as it could be challenging to plan around this or find a private, quiet space to receive the calls for the whole window of time.
For most participants, Lifeline Calls You was highly valued, particularly having the same crisis supporter and predictable calls. A participant said 'The person calling regularly and not having to go over my whole backstory meant the world'.
Some participants didn’t notice significantly different conversations with Lifeline Calls You compared to inbound calls. Two participants said that they felt they had to remain in the trial, despite it not being what they wanted or meeting their needs.
Participants felt that they had improved coping strategies, different perspectives and outlooks, which they mostly linked to Lifeline Calls You.
Some participants reported using other strategies instead of calling Lifeline after the trial. One participant said 'Since doing the program, I’m calling maybe once a week [instead of daily], and sometimes something will happen and I’ll go to call, and I realise I don’t even need to call.'
Participants described feeling that Lifeline was still available for them to call if they needed to.
Improved mood and mental health was reported among some participants. One participant said 'It helped me get balance back' and another said 'I feel more confident with things in general, just feeling more comfortable with myself'