Extend a lifeline to Lifeline Nelspruit as it aids those in distress

MBOMBELA – Lifeline Nelspruit (LN) assists and often rescues people suffering from mental and emotional pain.
Now it is asking for some assistance from the public it has served for the past 24 years.

On a daily basis, LN puts heart and soul into helping people going through crisis situations, divorces and marriages on the rocks, trauma, hijacking victims, bereaved and grief-stricken people, parents and children with life-threatening problems, hopelessness, broken relationships and people wishing to commit suicide.

The clinical manager of LN, Annriette Slabber, said, “We tend as a society to neglect our emotional and mental wellness and try to focus on other things to make us feel better, happy and accepted.

“If we do not acknowledge when we are lonely, feeling hopeless, overwhelmed by life, feeling rejected and abused, and mentally unbalanced, our journey to becoming whole again cannot start.”

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS: All smiles on faces of Curro’s 2023 Grade Ones

LN has outreach centres in Mbombela, Matsulu, KaBokweni, Masoyi and Daantjie. Services outside the Ehlanzeni District are delivered on request.

Its mission is to facilitate emotional wellness and behaviour change for individuals and communities in the service area by implementing comprehensive awareness and psychosocial programmes that puts HIV and Aids, gender-based violence, suicide, distress and trauma in public consciousness.

Of vital importance, LN aims to preserve the family as a focal point of our society and provides early intervention services to victims of crime and trauma.

ALSO READ:  Undocumented learners not to be denied admission to Mpumalanga schools

The organisation renders invaluable support services to the staff of Mediclinic Nelspruit and other healthcare centres. It also delivered an essential service during the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused collective and individual trauma and emotional instability in countless people.

LN started in 1998 as a group of women supporting people in emotional need, and has grown to employ five full-time staff members and six lay counsellors who work in the community daily.

ALSO READ: Mpumalanga roads see over 100 fatalities during holiday season

Slabber said, “Our mission and vision is to assist people to be emotionally and mentally well through face-to-face, telephonic and short-term counselling, debriefing sessions and awareness services, and providing emotional employee assistance services to companies.

“We are the first responders in emotional crisis and assist people who cannot afford to go to private therapy sessions.”

LN’s running costs are R250 000 to R300 000 per month. The life-saving organisation is primarily sponsored by the Department of Social Development, which subsides the salaries of three staff members. In previous years, it has relied on funding from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), but could not apply this year due to the NLC not opening any applications.

ALSO READ: Three men seriously injured in crash on R577 to Roossenekal

“We try during the year to do fundraising, but we need assistance with that. We are requesting donations from the public for us to continue our counselling sessions. As we are a Tax 18A organisation, all donations can be claimed back from SARS,” said Slabber.

Speaking on the need to destigmatise emotional and mental illness, she said, “It is okay to speak about your feelings and emotions. It is okay to say, ‘I can’t cope, I need help.’ Lifeline Nelspruit is the organisation that supports people with debilitating and frightening issues.”

People in crisis, their concerned families and friends and prospective donors may contact Slabber on 013 755 3606 or 082 554 1182.