Mr Sobey joined Lifeline in 2002 after encouragement from his boss at St John of God Ballarat Hospital. 

“That was the big motivator, but the second motivator was that I actually believe in the Lifeline model,” he said.

“In the early days, we answered just Ballarat calls and if we didn’t answer the phones here, no one did.”

In the 15 years since, Mr Sobey has changed jobs and cities, working for the public service in Ballarat, before living in Melbourne for close to a decade and now in Canberra. 

But his work with Lifeline Ballarat has endured.

“Even though I am physically removed, the volunteer group is a real community, we all belong, and I am still part of that,” Mr Sobey said.

“And that’s what has held me here… I feel very comfortable just  to wander in and make myself at home.”

Mr Sobey has witnessed many changes over the years, but the advancements in technology work in his favour as an interstate volunteer.

“When I started we used to write by hand our call sheets and we had a physical phone that we picked up and answered, whereas these days everything is done via the computer,” he said.

Mr Sobey has experienced a range of roles including phone counsellor, supervisor and trainer. 

One of his biggest supporters has been his 91-year-old grandmother Phyllis Lloyd, who has dedicated her life to volunteering and instilled those values into her family.

It was only two years ago Mrs Lloyd received an Order of Australia for her own service to the community.

She spent more than 30 years with the Country Women’s Association, where she organised an annual Australia Day competition for all the schools in the district, and more than 10 years as president of the Historical Society of Napoleons.

“It came out of the blue and I didn’t know anything about it,” Mrs Lloyd said of the prestigious award received from the Governor General at Government House in Canberra.