Lifeline is in its 61st year of helping people in Australia. 'Always Listening' is a documentary made about Lifeline and is a tribute to the work they perform.

In the 2022 floods, Lismore became a vital hub, and the film speaks to two women who provided that support to the area.

Made by Genevieve Bailey in conjunction with Lifeline, the film made its debut at the end of October and is available on SBS on Demand. It's an uplifting watch.

Genevieve has made many documentaries, and her passion is to produce works that resonate with people.

“My goal with the film was to shine a light on the history of Lifeline. It was started by Reverend Sir Alan Walker as a service because he wanted to help the lonely people of Sydney.

“What we've done with the film is give you some history about Lifeline, but also introduce you to some of the incredible crisis supporters who are doing this amazing work now. 

“We focus on that art of listening, why they do it, and why we need it so desperately in these times.”

Part of the film was shot here in Lismore with local Volunteer Crisis Supports Pam and Sharon.

Genevieve recalls, “So much was devastated after the floods, but Lifeline remained open, running out of portable caravans. The support girls had such good spirits, they called their temporary loo, their "festival toilet".

“It was just really nice to get into Lismore and be able to include those stories in the film.”

Pam Mathieson has almost 10 years of experience with Lifeline and assists crisis support in other ways. 

At 73, Pam was a popular choice with her colleagues to represent Lifeline in the film. Pam was humble about her involvement, though she freely admits, “I'm passionate about dealing with people who are lonely, and loneliness is such a huge issue in our society.”

Pam works doing “voice service” for Lifeline, but found it interesting to learn about others' involvement, “There were other people who do the tech service (SMS). And there's also online support, so I was interested to listen to what they had to say, because it's different.

“I prefer to do the voice service; that's just me because I like to display compassion through my voice tone. I found that really interesting in the film.”

Genevieve was impressed at the way Lifeline keep up to date with communications and cultural changes that have made things like an SMS service so vital.

“Text support is actually really critical for people who, for example, might be in a situation that's unsafe, in a family situation where they can't really call up and share their struggles, but they can do that over text or Work Chat.”

One other aspect of culture in the film is “Learning about 13Yarn for First Nations people who want to receive that support from other First Nations people. That was also a really interesting part of the filmmaking process, and learning about that cultural understanding that they feel will be there.”

The Lifeline community is spoken about very highly by Pam, whether it be the training, her "amazing and compassionate" co workers, or the experience of helping people. 

“Lifeline is fulfilling such a wonderful service for those people who need help to deal with any current problems that are overwhelming for them. 

“I've always said to people who are in a crisis, what a privilege it is to help them.”

Both Pam and Genevieve spoke about the concept of deep listening - it is an elusive skill in our society.   

Genevieve said, “I actually think there's a real art to just sitting with people and their discomfort and acknowledging it, but not coming up with things they should be doing differently or things they shouldn't have done. Non-judgmental, listening, it's really powerful.

(Genevieve Bailey. Image supplied)

“If someone wants to be more present, at a work meeting, or when you're picking up kids from school, anytime you can use listening skills. It can benefit everyone in the community.”

Pam speaks of the importance of focused listening in her role, “At Lifeline, to be able to build up connection through deep listening and show our compassion through deep listening - I think it's, it's really a skill that you develop.

“If I have the headphones on, I put my hands on those headphones, close my eyes and just listen to what they say,” Pam finds blocking out distractions can be beneficial.

Always Listening was made after an opportunity came up after making another film. “When I was screening Happy, Sad Man around Australia, Lifeline had asked if they could screen it for some of their volunteers.

“It was then that I started having conversations with Lifeline,” Lifeline asked Genevieve if she would be interested in making a film about them.

“I straight away said yes, because I've always known about Lifeline's work. What made me really interested in this project was the fact that I've never really seen a film about the people who answer the calls for help.”

The film was nearly called The Listeners, but was changed at the last minute when a BBC series came out with the same name! “We didn't legally have to change it, but I think it's better to have a different title.”

Find Always Listening on SBS on Demand here.

You can find more information about Genevieve Baileys work at: https://www.proudmotherpictures.com/.

Learn more about being a Lifeline Crisis Support worker here.