Last year, as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, TELL launched the TELL Legends Award. This award recognises individuals present and past who have shown excellence in their work, inspired others, and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the organisation’s vision of zero suicides.
This month we honour Jason Chare who was the Lifeline Director from 2007 – 2013. Jason also volunteered on the Lifeline from 2005 to 2014 and helped as a trainer from 2013 to 2014 before moving to Canada with his family. In Canada, Jason worked with the Crisis Line Association of B.C., which is a network of crisis lines providing 24-hour support for suicide prevention and mental health and was one of the key leads in forming Canada’s first national suicide prevention service through Crisis Service Canada (CSC). He continued in this role as Director of Operations for CSC until his death from cancer in 2021. This is a link to a TED talk he gave on active listening in 2012. Jason was an individual who, right to the end, was there for others, helped save many lives around the world, and is a TELL Legend.