LIFELINE

[noun] [C] - something, esp. a way of getting help, on which you depend to lead your life in a satisfactory wayFor many old people living on their own the telephone is their lifeline to the outside world.The small local shop provides the lifeline for the community - the contact, the gossip, the help, the news.Our school is on the brink of a financial precipice - either someone throws us a lifeline, or we'll disappear over the edge.A lifeline is also a rope which is thrown to someone who is in the water, esp. the sea, and is in danger.