LIFELINE Zululand turned the corner in the past year – but will negotiate the road ahead minus its formidable driver, Sue Stephenson.
After 13 years as Executive Director, Stephenson has stepped down and is mentoring Deputy Director Michelle Jewlal to take over the position.
At LifeLine’s 27th Annual General Meeting, held at the Richards Bay Civic Centre on Saturday, gracious tributes were paid to Sue, as well as to Juriana Filmalter, who resigned after seven years as Chairman, but remains on the Board.
In her outgoing report, Stephenson said the past year had ‘seen tenacity and hard work pay off’.
‘The LifeLine Zululand Centre literally limped through 2013/2014 as funding reduced to an alarming level, which meant employing some serious cost cutting strategies.
‘But with the establishment of some valuable partnerships, we forged ahead with newly funded projects and programmes.
‘The year was exciting and invigorating, breathing new life into the Centre and again, confirming who LifeLine is and what it stands for in the community.
‘The staff complement increased tenfold as it rose from three to 30 in a short space of time and additional training was needed to ensure a high level of service delivery.
‘For the first time in our Centre’s history we employed qualified social workers to assist with service delivery, specifically to address trauma and sadly, trauma with children.
‘Perpetrators need to be dealt with harshly, but we also need to find out the root causes. There is much work to be done as this behaviour remains relentless.’
Dedication
The part Stephenson played throughout her tenure was highlighted by Filmalter in her Chairman’s Report.
‘Thanks to the outstanding efforts of all the staff, led by Sue Stephenson and our volunteers, LifeLine has continued to serve the community well.
‘Our team is faced by increasingly complex cases and is managing this demand with no reduction in the numbers of individuals counselled or the standard of care, which is a tribute to their dedication.
‘The Board, together with the management team, has revised the business plan for LifeLine Zululand so that we will be flexible enough in the services we offer to react to whatever changes face us in the future.
‘The financial position has improved on the given 2014 report, and though still in a deficit, we are slightly ahead of the recovery plan which was instigated at the end of last year.
‘We are developing a sustainability model that will enable us to focus on our key competencies and values while increasing our number of funders.’
Reports
At the AGM, reports were also shared on the Victim Empowerment Programme and Commercial Sex Workers (CSW) project.
The former provides 24-hour psychological first aid and psychosocial support for victims of sexual assault and rape, promoting early intervention and prevention services and assisting in speeding up investigation and increasing the prosecution of criminal cases.
‘At present, nine Counsellors and two Social Workers are employed, based at the Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) at Ngwelezana Hospital, the LifeLine Zululand office and various police stations,’ said Social Work Manager, Aaliya Fransch.
‘A total of 695 new clients accessed these services at the TCC, of which 56% were under the age of 18 years.’
The CSW project, started in April 2014, has to date reached out to 1 812 individuals involved in sex work through Outreach and Creative Space Workshops in the Richards Bay, Empangeni and surrounding areas.
Among others, it effects positive living and behaviour changes and assists sex workers with health and human rights services.
At present the project employs a Project Coordinator; two Liaison Officers and six Peer Educators.
