Stef’s Story

Lifeline WA ambassador and motivational speaker Alison Braun struggled with her weight for much of her life.

But in 2008, she set out to change that as a contestant on reality show The Biggest Loser.

Alison lost 55kg and finished second overall, but it was the lessons she learned in the process that made the biggest impact on her life.

“Being placed in a position and pushed out of my comfort zone on a daily basis, I discovered strengths within myself I never knew existed,” she says.

“I discovered I was mentally stronger than I ever realised, disciplined and extremely competitive.”

It should have been the start of a wonderful new chapter for her young family, however, six months later while preparing to film an advertisement in the eastern states, she received the news that her husband Bob had taken his own life.

She still remembers the call that changed her world.

“It was my Mum, I could hear such distress in her voice,” she recalls.

“As I stood in my hotel room on the other side of the country all I could hear were the screams of my son and the cries of my two little girls. I couldn’t be there to hold them, to comfort them and tell them it’s going to be OK.”

It took all of Alison’s new strength to endure this loss and be there for her children as a single parent.

“I had really no idea what to do at that point, how I was going to do everything,” she says.

“I made a conscious decision that I wanted to be a role model to my kids and the community.”

In 2008, suicide was a taboo subject and there was a stigma associated with mental health and suicide. Alison was determined to make sure her children would never feel their dad’s illness was a shameful act.

Alison was given a platform within the media and through public speaking and set out to use this opportunity to break down stereotypes, shame and the taboo around mental health and suicide.

Today, Alison continues to inspire her family and many others as an advocate for mental health and a positive voice in the community.

In supporting Lifeline WA, Alison hopes to prevent other families receiving the sort of call she did, by encouraging people who struggling to call Lifeline for help in times of crisis.

Alison believes if her husband had just reached out for help that day, her children would still have their father with them today.

Retired cricketer Brad Hogg has achieved a sporting success level that would envious many Australians.

Raised on a sheep farm in the Great Southern region, Brad rose from the Tarwonga Cricket Club to represent Australia as a wrist spin bowler and batsman.

He excelled at all formats of the game, ranking second among spin bowlers in wickets taken in One Day International cricket and achieving cult hero status as part of the fledgling Big Bash League in the 2010s.

However, retirement from cricket presented a difficult challenge for Brad. The loss of identity as a professional athlete, combined with issues in his personal life, resulted in Brad’s mental health declining. Brad says he compounded the problem by hiding it behind a forced smile and trademark self-deprecation.

“While I went through my stuff, I didn’t really talk to anyone about it. I just kept it inside myself and didn’t really express it,” he says. “I just didn’t see the answers, and all I could see was doom and gloom.”

Brad didn’t access resources like Lifeline WA when he needed help, and now he’s motivated to spread the word about Lifeline WA so others don’t make the same mistake.

“When you go down into a little bit of a spiral and things aren’t going right, if you don’t address them straight away then the hole just gets bigger,” he says.

Speaking publicly about his experience of depression for the first time was difficult, but Brad sees it as necessary.

“The first time I spoke, I was really nervous, but when I realised I could help at least one or 10 or 100 people, I felt better about it,” he says. “I hope that normalising life’s struggles and encouraging people to be open makes an impact.”

His message for people who are struggling is simple. “For me, it’s about talking it out and getting open with it when you start to see things aren’t going right. There are resources out there like Lifeline WA to help you.”

Ros Worthington OAM is one of Australia’s most inspirational philanthropists.

She has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal, 2015 Western Australian of the Year for community and has twice been a finalist for Australian of the Year. She has been formally acknowledged as one of WA’s 100 Most Influential Western Australians. Ros lost her husband Ross, to suicide in 2002.

This month Ros launched a campaign – Stepping out of the Shadows – aiming to raise one million dollars for Lifeline WA.

Ros has gathered together a group of strong community advocates who have lost loved ones to help Western Australians create a lifeline for Lifeline WA.

Their focus is on both prevention of suicide and support for those who are bereaved by the loss of someone to suicide. This community driven initiative encompasses people from all walks of life; young, old, gay, straight, working, not working, men and women from all backgrounds and cultures, who lost loved ones to suicide.

The Stepping Out of the Shadows campaign will travel across the state of Western Australia delivering a message of hope, garnering support and encouraging discussion about coming out of the shadows and into the light to save lives.

The one million dollar fundraising target will help Lifeline WA to train more volunteers and mentors, answer more calls and save more lives.