Our History - Lifeline

1970s - The First Few Years

Nov 1976 – First meeting of the ten (10) founding members
May 1977 – Meeting with Chad Varah, founder of the Samaritans, UK
Sep 1977 – Organisation named – Lifeline
Nov 1977 – First preparation class of 100 participants
June 1978 – Offered 12-hour daily listening service from Curepe
March1979 – First appearance of the charity filler in The Express

1980s - Creating a Space

1990s - The Shape of Impact

April 1992 – Further expansion to 79, Eastern Main Road, St Augustine
May 1993 – Telephone service increased to three (3) lines. Centre renovated to provide operations and listening rooms.
June 1993 – Hosted the first International Conference on “Violence, Self and the Young Male: A Regional Policy.
Oct 1994 – Printing of the proceedings of the conference “Violence, Self and the Young Male”
March 1995 – Launched Lifeline’s Outreach to Young Males 11-14 years
April 1995 – Relocated to Sellier Street, St Augustine
May 1995 – Violence, Self and the Young Male II: – Effective Strategies to Counter Young Male Violence
July 1995 – Hosted a two-day seminar “A Time to Listen” for Organisations to listen to Youths from the Youth Training Centre (YTC) and St Michael’s Home 3-week residential workshop for Youth at Risk
May 1996 – Outreach to Young Males 11-14 at YTC
Nov 1996 – UNESCO approved funding for Outreach to Violent Young Males
Nov 1997 – Zalayhar Hassanali – Former First Lady of Trinidad and Tobago and Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Q.C. become joint patrons
Nov 1997 – “Violence, Self & the Young Male III: Policies that work simultaneously on the Political, Administrative & Face-to-Face Levels”
May 1999 – IDB through the Community Development Fund approved funding for Outreach to Youth on Remand at YTC

2000s - Capturing More Support

May 2000 – British High Commission assists Lifeline’s Outreach Programme
Dec 2000 – Republic Bank approves stamp mortgage for Lifeline’s first permanent Centre
Sept 2001 – Violence, Self & the Young Male IV: Building Partnerships, Implementing Policy
Nov 2001 – Fernandes Trust assists Lifeline’s Outreach Programme
Jan 2002 – Community Outreach: Meeting Families at High Risk of Being Victims or Perpetrators of Violence where they as they are in the Community
Mar 2003 – The Kevin Fund: Support for Lads Released from YTC Student Outreach Programme (STOP): An integrated programme for students at high risk of violence, working with their parents, teachers and concerned community members
Dec 2007 – Lifeline services expanded to contact by e-mail: [email protected]
Dec 2010 – Ministry of Social Development . Subvention to fund the Helpline and Outreach Programmes.
March 2015 – Ministry of Social Development. Subvention for 6 months which funded only the Helpline.
June 2017 – Expansion to 24 hours a day. Toll free lines from TSTT (800 5588) and Digicel (231 2824). Flow to flow is free: 220 3636

Help us to continue the story.

Lifeline is a registered non-profit operating in Trinidad and Tobago

Send us your queries at [email protected].