Inspite of it being such a difficult year for many, Premier Lifeline has listened, prayed for and fostered hope in massive numbers.

Since Lifeline was launched on June 10th 1995, there have been over 1,726,859 answered calls.

In the twelve months to December 2024, mental health remains the leading issue raised by those who called, but loneliness is not as prevalent this year.

Mental health calls encompasses a broad spectrum of concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm.

Health issues and family matters closely followed.

Director of Lifeline Jonathan Clark told Premier Christian News: "The reasons for calling are fairly consistent and have been over the years except the order has changed slightly in these statistics in that loneliness would often have been first for Lifeline.

"The only other change is that the job issues/matters subject is higher than in previous years. This was first noticed in the pandemic and stayed high."

Clark also emphasised how finance issues are a key current subject that does not appear in the top five but is a regular theme.

The helpline’s top five call topics for 2024 were: Mental health, health issues, family issues, loneliness, job matters.

Faith-related calls, which previously featured in the top five, no longer make the list but remain prominent in written prayer requests submitted through Premier’s 'Breakthrough' service.

The top five prayer requests this year were: Health issues, breakthrough, job issues, prayer for family and mental health.

Premier Lifeline prides themselves on "Being there at the end of the phone line. a place where faith and compassion meet" and they are open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on 0300 111 0101.