She recalls applying to become a volunteer: “My husband Reg had cancer –,a virtually unknown type and had been given three years to live.  He wanted to join Cancer Call – a telephone line that helped people wanting to talk about cancer.  I didn’t want to join the line, I felt I had enough on my plate without doing this, however I did end up doing it. 

Joyce looked into working for Lifeline and was accepted as a trainee volunteer.  Bruce Mackie was one of the trainers and she remembers him well.  At the end of the training Bruce asked Joyce a question.  “Joyce, what do you do for yourself?”

Joyce recalls she was at a complete loss to answer the question.  “I didn’t have a clue what he meant,” she says. 

And because of that, Bruce declined Joyce!  He told her to think about the question and come back in six months time.  When Reg came to collect her and asked her how she got on she told him she’d been turned down and to come back in six months time once she could answer Bruce’s question.  Joyce says Reg’s reaction was to tell her to forget the whole thing but that wasn’t Joyce’s view.  “I didn’t have a clue what Bruce was on about but I wasn’t going to give up.

Joyce says, “Bruce taught me one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned – if I can’t look after myself, how you can look after anyone else?”  To this day I still ask my callers this question and I still quote it.”

She recalls the years with great fondness, you can see it in her face.  She says things were different then, the Telephone Counsellors were involved in decision making and often drove strategy decisions and progress.  There was also a council where a group of them met and collaborated with management.

Joyce was also involved with the start-up of Kidsline, Chinese line and Destig but the one she remembers most was the National Depression Line a couple of  years ago.

Over the years Joyce has made some wonderful friends and she says the camaraderie was wonderful.  She believes a lot of the bonding came from working hard to find a dollar.  When asked if she can remember her first call she smiles and recalls walking into the call room where two Remuera ladies were talking about their weekend on the yacht. She shared with them how nervous she was feeling and they simply said “ you’ll be fine” and carried on talking about the weekend. 

Joyce found this a little disconcerting and her first call was about a pregnant girl’s father- in- law with wandering hands.  She said she couldn’t believe there were people out there like that. She says it brought home what a sheltered life she’d led.  Of course she chuckles at that and with 25 years experience she’s had many more calls which were even more unbelievable.

The stories were endless and we could write a book on Joyce, one day she might write it for us!  Joyce isn’t leaving Lifeline, we are very happy that she will continue her work on the NDI. 

What a wonderfully inspiring person Joyce Dawkins is.  Thank you Joyce, for sharing so much of your life with so many people – they are the lucky ones, of that there is no doubt.