Shanghai Charities: Lifeline

My name is Kim and I am currently a board member and a volunteer for LifeLine Shanghai. My husband and I moved here from Northern California in September 2007 for a three year work term/adventure. After being here for three years, it feels like only yesterday that I arrived all starry eyed at Pudong International Airport.

I remember standing there thinking “Now what? Where do I begin?” You pick up your luggage and look for your pre-arranged driver to take you to your new home (or to the hotel you call home until a nice apartment comes along). The next stop is food – where to get it, how to pay for it, do I cook it first or eat it raw? These are questions I would not even think about back in my home country but which now form part of my new life.

As a 'trailing spouse' it is my responsibility to make the transition as smooth as possible for my family. In my case, ’family’ means my husband and our two dogs. My husband, although in a new country, will continue to work on a daily basis in the same work module as before. He will be part of the same work environment and the same business model, albeit with different colleagues, who have different ideas about proper etiquette and language.

All members of the family will have stress at one point or another. The members of any expat family will experience stress, pressure, anxiety, depression and other forms of emotional upheaval many times and at different levels. This is the time for reaching out, the time to look for that someone or something to help get rid of those feelings. That is what I did.

I started by looking on the internet for volunteer opportunities. I saw an article about the Expat Show and so off I went. There, I spoke with many interesting organizations. There were dentists, doctors, health insurance companies, and volunteer/non-profit organizations. After speaking with several of the latter, one above the rest piqued my interest – Lifeline!

Lifeline Shanghai is a non-profit organization that offers free, anonymous, and confidential emotional support to the community. Each potential volunteer is interviewed and, once approved, attends a three day intensive training course. After I had spoken with a representative from LLS and a current volunteer, I decided to apply to become a volunteer myself.

That was almost three years ago and I enjoy my time at LLS even more today than when I began this adventure. They offer many different kinds of opportunities for volunteers but, ultimately, if you are interested in reaching out to your community, then Lifeline welcomes you. We have many Outreach activities where volunteers participate by speaking publicly about our programs or by representing Lifeline at events such as the Expat Show. LLS is involved with the international schools through a program called YouthLink. YouthLink is an important program to Lifeline because it reaches out to students. Just as adults can have problems with stress, pressure, and their peers, so can students. Although as adults we may think that their problems are ‘teenage’ ones, to them these concerns are as serious and scary as those that any adult faces. Therefore, teenage problems must be considered serious. With YouthLink, Lifeline goes into schools, provides professional speakers, and talks with students in the hope that they will feel comfortable enough to reach out for help. They can talk with someone then and there or call Lifeline later.

The telephone volunteer is the backbone of LLS. Telephone volunteers speak with anonymous callers without judgment. The ages, nationalities, and issues vary with each caller and each caller is treated individually and with respect. If the caller requests a professional counselor, psychologist, or even a dentist, Lifeline’s data base of health professionals has the necessary information.

These three years at LLS have personally brought me calmness, friends, and awareness of a different side of China. Lifeline has given me the reason (that little push) to leave my house when I did not want to leave. I would be lying if I said everything was perfect in my own life - nothing ever is - but without Lifeline and my colleagues, my world would be very small in this big city with bright lights.

To support us, you can become a volunteer and start a new chapter in your life. You could also attend our upcoming Murder and Mystery event! On November 5, 2010 LLS will be hosting a glamorous evening of beautifully dressed men and women where not only decadent food and drinks are on the menu, but so is ‘murder’! Get your tickets and solve the mystery or just enjoy a fun evening with your friends. This promises to be a win/win night, with interesting people to be met and new friendships to be formed. For more information about this event please email us at info@lifelineshanghai.com or call 13817213215 to purchase tickets. If you have any questions about Lifeline in general, do visit our website at www.lifelineshanghai.com.