LINE 1 Crisis Response – Adelaide
Formed in 1977 by a group of parents who tragically had their babies die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), this group worked tirelessly to raise money to fund research in to SIDS and, based on research, promoted the safest way to sleep babies.

Today they continue to promote their safe sleeping message which has resulted in an 83% drop in the rate of SIDS and still support 50 new clients every year that suffer the tragic loss of a baby or child that has died suddenly and unexpectedly.

In addition, SIDS and Kids established a free professional counselling service that specialised in helping families through their grief.

Typically, when a baby dies at home from a sleep related cause, the police are notified and immediately attend the scene along with paramedics and personnel from the coroners department. A 24 hour on-call SIDS and Kids counsellor is also notified by emergency services through the special service called LINE 1. Upon receiving the call from LINE 1, a counsellor attends the death scene to provide immediate support to the family through this intensely traumatic process.

This then flows on to regular and on-going counselling to all affected by the death of that child for as long as it is required  – this often means support for an extended family for a year.

Up to 60 people are affected by the death of one child. The cost to the community is vast, ranging from mental and physical health issues, relationship breakdowns, general trauma and increased absences from work and community programs. LINE 1 ensures that there is no delay in the provision of counselling services.

Research shows that immediate professional counselling can reduce the longer term impact of these affects, as it is shown to assist the grief process, reduce anxiety and facilitate the acceptance of the loss. From this families are able to move on to live a positive and productive life again.

Getting notification from SA Police through Line 1 is vital so that immediate support can be given and people know they are not alone.

LINE 1 is the conduit to the homes of those parents who have had their baby die in their home. The economic environment has seen a decrease of funds across the charity sector and therefore general revenue is no longer available to support the cost of LINE 1 long term. As such, SIDS and Kids were seeking financial support to offset the cost of LINE 1 and maintain this vital and unique service.

A UCF small grant of $2,000 was approved to offset the cost and maintain this vital and unique emergency support service.