Lorraine MacGillivray named Heart Volunteer Awards community winner
Lorraine MacGillivray is on call around-the-clock, always ready to support East Gippsland’s young people when they most need it.
The job includes midnight call-outs and hours spent in a police station – it’s not one most volunteers would sign up for.
But Lorraine MacGillivray isn’t your typical volunteer.
The 63-year-old Sale resident is passionate about giving back to her community in a way that will make a real difference, which is why she signed up to help the Youth Referral and Independent Person Program.
“I’m a fairly outgoing adventurous person … It probably fits my personality more to do this, rather than sell raffle tickets for a good cause,” Lorraine says.
In the role, she attends police interviews to support young people in custody when a parent or guardian is not available.
Whenever called, she drives to her local Sale police station — or makes the longer 70km journey to Bairnsdale — to support vulnerable teens who are alone, often scared and being charged with a crime.
“Our job is to protect the rights of the child,” Lorraine says. “We tell them we are not police officers, we are not lawyers, we are just a person who cares that is there for them. Usually that brings about a sigh of relief.
“You come back and think to yourself, I just might have made a bit of difference, to get them to think about their potential or possibilities going forward in their life.”
Australian law requires an adult to be present during formal police questioning of any juvenile under the age of 18.
In Victoria, the unique YRIPP program was established 16 years ago to train and keep a pool of impartial volunteers available for police to access. An around-the-clock roster of 400 people service 160 police stations across Victoria, responding to 3500 call-outs a year.
Program manager Lawrence Ussher says committed volunteers are difficult to find.
“What level of engagement each volunteer has varies quite a lot,” he says. “We have a small minority of volunteers who take the majority of calls.”
Lorraine is part of that small minority.
“These kids are so vulnerable,” she says. “If that kid thinks for a second that there is one adult that actually cares about them, it’s worth it.”
Lorraine brings her youthful spirit and boundless energy to a volunteer role that helps the most vulnerable young people in rural communities, and for that reason she is this year’s Community Winner.
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