Wellbeing & Inclusion 

at Willy

(Repeat)

Other People Matter - Connecting with Family, Friends and Colleagues

A conversation can change a life - that is the idea behind R U OK? Day. The organisers of this day wish to inspire and empower people to meaningfully connect with those in their world and lend support when they are struggling with life. Although the day is marked as Thursday September 12th, 2024, it is really known now as RU OK? Any day because life happens every day.

RU OK? Is a public health promotion that encourages people to stay connected and have conversations that can help others through difficult times. Their work focuses on building the motivation, confidence and skills of the help-giver – the person who can have a meaningful conversation with someone who is struggling with life. It encourages people to invest more time in their personal relationships and to build the capacity of informal support networks – friends, family and colleagues - to be alert to those around them, have a conversation if they identify signs of distress or difficulty and connect someone to appropriate support, long before they're in crisis.

It is not always easy to begin a conversation with a person in our lives who we believe to be struggling, but it is one of the most powerful ways we can begin to support them. We believe that we have a wonderful and supportive community in Williamstown and know that our families really do look out for each other. By noticing other people and then checking in, we are building our community even further and ensuring that everyone is seen, heard and cared for. When building our capacity to connect with others, we are also showing our children that other people matter.

The visuals above provide a fantastic guide to providing a friend, family member or colleague with a supportive conversation. For further resources you can visit: https://www.ruok.org.au/r-u-ok-day

Kind regards,

Lisa Leydin                                                                 Anna Swan

Assistant Principal                                                   Learning Specialist

Disability, Inclusion & Wellbeing                         Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader (Wed–Fri)