End of financial year statistics have revealed Lifeline WA crisis supporters answered the most requests for help in the last financial year than at any time its history.

Lifeline WA crisis supporters had 65,723 conversations by phone, text and chat in the 2021/22 financial year, which was an increase of 31 per cent on the previous year.

To meet the growing demand, Lifeline WA also trained more crisis supporters than ever before, with 275 fully accredited telephone crisis supporters now helping people in crisis, and another 34 crisis supporters in training.

Lifeline WA CEO Lorna MacGregor said it had been a difficult year for many people.

“There are always a range of reasons people reach out to us for help, but we have certainly found that in the past two years anxiety as a result of COVID related factors has been very high,” she said.

“More recently, we are seeing more calls from people under financial strain and mortgage stress as a result of the challenging economic climate.

“But while the figures do raise concern about the mental health issues being experienced in the community, they are also perhaps indicative that more people are willing to reach out for help.

“Through a range of different programs and ambassadors, Lifeline WA is working very hard to get out into the community to share messages about suicide prevention and to help break down stigma around talking about mental health.

“We are grateful to all our community fundraisers and corporate sponsors for supporting Lifeline WA to enable us to deliver more programs and answer more calls for help via phone, text and chat.”

Lifeline WA also delivered more programs in the community this financial year, including the Push-Up Challenge and the annual Lights for Lifeline campaign.