REACHING OUT TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER – R U OK DAY

Staying connected has always been important for our health and well-being, but 2020 has been far more challenging than any of us ever imagined. These unprecedented and stressful times require increased attention and awareness of the people around us; family, friends, work colleagues and community locally and abroad. Our new way of living requires a heightened sense of support, connectivity, communication and if required, specialist help long before a situation becomes worse.

Start the conversation and show you care with R U OK? Then continue the conversation by listening, offering advice, support and checking in.

ASK – LISTEN – ENCOURAGE ACTION – CHECK IN.

Here are some of the things our team have been doing to stay connected and bring a little sunshine and care to people lives:

My R U OK story so far includes: “Delivering meals, little treats and coffee chats with people in the neighbourhood, community, school and business to show we’re thinking of them and care”. Calling friends, family and team members regularly is so much better than texting.

I’m encouraging more face time if it’s not possible to visit people in person. Communication is a 2 way street and ‘really listening’ to people and being in the moment is so important. Please don’t just text.

During school drop off one morning, we walked past the ‘lolly pop’ safe road crossing lady and Jack said “Mummy I think this lady looks really sad, I think she wants to leave her job”!!  The next day we gave her chocolates as we walked past and received the biggest smile. It made her day and created a happier morning. We say hello every morning and oddly enough, she was feeling invisible at the crossing each day as people walked past and said nothing as they rushed to school each day.

Shelley shared that she organises family meals over Skype to celebrate birthdays. “I speak with each of them individually over video as well. That face-time is so important to me! I make a conscious effort to call good friends back home when I think of them, just to say hi or share a life story update!”

Julie said Genuine Care goes a long way. “Saying hope you’re OK, I’m here if you need anything” isn’t enough. Turning up.. Being present and showing them you’re really there makes all the difference. Making actual time to sit and listen. Turn up”.

“Checking in on people / in a digital world the return of “dropping by to say hi” makes a huge impact

“I have an elderly neighbour (Margaret) who lives at the end of my street and we’ve become really close during COVID. I check in on her and her puppies and a 5 min drop in a couple of times a week makes her day. Some people are really isolated and lonely and 5 mins can make a world of difference to them. One week she told me I was the only person she had seen in 2 weeks and it broke my heart but made me realise that it’s small gestures like this that can brighten up someone’s day and make them feel less alone.”

Lisa shared – “I just make sure to phone all my friends/family to check in with them to see how they are doing. I also ended up phoning some old clients of mine who were surprised to hear from me to check in as well. Simple communications can be very powerful”.

Verity shared “We locked in a set date every week with friends to have a glass of wine/coffee together and a scheduled chat”.