A life filled with care

A lonely and distressed woman sat on a cliff top contemplating ending her life. In her desperation, the woman reached for her mobile phone and pressed in a number she had been given to call if life got too tough.

Ten or so kilometres away, Jayne Wilson*, mother of seven and head of The Salvation Army’s First Floor Program (Wollongong, NSW) was fighting for her own life, preparing to receive a chemotherapy injection.

As a nurse inserted a needle into her arm, Jayne’s mobile rang.

The caller was Francesca (not her real name), the woman on the cliff. Francesca had lost hope after three years of intense stress after her 17-year relationship ended acrimoniously and she had moved to Wollongong for work.

She says: “I was missing my child, I couldn’t eat, I lost energy, I had headaches and pain … I was taking three types of antidepressants and none of them were working.

“I don’t know what made me make the call to Jayne,” Francesca says.

A cry for help

“Somebody had given me her number. I didn’t know she was in hospital. I was screaming. She was trying to calm me.”

Francesca says she cannot remember much of that initial conversation, but explains: “the thing I remember the most is that she said she promised that I would receive the full backing and services of The Salvation Army if I came down from the mountain.

Francesca immediately met the support personnel Jayne organised and she and Francesca then also met a number of times.

Francesca has since stopped taking antidepressants. She is rebuilding her life with support and says she only discovered later that first day that Jayne was in hospital undergoing cancer treatment.

“Jayne saved my life. There is no doubt about that,” Francesca says. “She was there for me, even though she had every reason to pass on my call because of her own circumstances.”

For more than 15 years, Jayne had overseen the establishment and then development of the First Floor Program.

Essential services founder

The service offers support for individuals and their loved ones impacted by addiction &/or mental health issues, plus a range of other services. Programs developed by the centre are used nationally and internationally.

Jayne also served as chaplain to the Lake Illawarra Command of NSW Police, helped establish a support program for emergency services personnel and played a key role in a number of pilot programs with agencies including the Department of Corrective Services.

Jayne said she was humbled by the opportunities she had to help others and praised the dedication and skills of the First Floor staff.

Through her encounter with Francesca, at a time she questioned if she could be any more use to God, Jayne said: “I learned even more about the graciousness of God!”

For more information or to support First Floor, phone (02) 4229 1079

*One week before Christmas 2013, Jayne Wilson returned to Wollongong hospital. She passed away into God’s loving arms on Christmas Day.

By Bill Simpson

Photo caption: Jayne Wilson (right) continued to lovingly serve others throughout her own health crisis