Humans of Lifeline — Lifeline Ambassador
Ian “Eno” Taylor
“I got in contact with Angela at North Coast (NSW) and said 'This is what I'm planning, I need to get the word out there.' And she said, 'How can we help?' “
What connects you to lifeline?
My stepdad passed away when I was 18, due to a bad heart. He was pretty much who I called dad. He was the one who put food on the table and looked after us. When he passed, it was a bit tough because everyone said to me “You're the man of the house, you've got to step up. You've got to be strong. You can't cry in front of your sister and your mum”, all that sort of stuff. I got to a point where, every time I wanted to talk to mum about how I felt, the story changed, it was about her, she'd lost her soulmate, and I never had the chance to tell anyone how I felt. So I ended up trying to take my own life. But then, lucky enough, I was found by a homeless man, and he saved me. He called the ambulance, and they revived me.
Mark, who worked with us for thirteen years. He took his own life. And that was a bit of a, it was just something I've never experienced. On the Friday, we were having a conversation about what we're doing on the weekend, I said “Catch you Monday.” And he never showed up for work on Monday.
A couple of the local drivers were saying to me “What are we gonna do? We can't just not do anything.” We needed to have a bit of a send-off.
He'd been driving trucks around here for thirty years or more. We wanted to say goodbye. No-one was really doing anything, so I thought, “Bugger it, let's have a small convoy, just ten trucks or so, just his close mates. We'll have a bit of a convoy, come back here and have a BBQ, bit of a send-off.” That was day one when I decided to do that. Three or four days later, the response that I got, I was looking at about thirty to forty trucks. Within a week, we'd gone from about 15 trucks to having about 120.
That's when I thought we could make something more of this, and that's when I got in contact with Angela at Lifeline. I told Angela “This is what I'm planning, I need to get the word out there.” And she said, “How can we help?”
Human Stories
The Humans of Lifeline
These Humans support lifeline in their own unique way, to ensure that no person in Australia has to face their darkest moments alone.
Read their stories →
Ways to get involved
Thanks to the unwavering support of the Australian people, Lifeline is able to celebrate 60 years of service to people in times of crisis. The generosity that you provide helps us be there for those who need us and equip communities across Australia to be suicide safe. Explore the ways you can participate in our celebrations and help Lifeline continue its important work for another 60 years and beyond.
