Hi, I’m Simon from Student Edge and today I’m talking to Bec from R U OK.
Hi Bec. Hey, how you going?
Good. We’re in front of the R U OK bus. Tell me about it. Why does R U OK need a bus?
What is the bus for?
Well, the bus is really a tool for us to get out and meet people. You know, ads and newspapers
can only get you so far, so for us it’s really important we meet people face to face,
and for us this is the first time we’ve been in WA, so we’re pretty excited.
Nice. Well, we’re glad to have you here. What is the message you’re trying to get out?
What are you telling people as you go across the country?
Well, R U OK at its core is all about getting people to ask that really simple question.
How you going? What’s up? What’s going on for you? And the truth is, a lot of people aren’t okay.
They’re stressed with work, they’re worried about school, they’ve got too much
on their plate at uni. So it’s really about helping anyone to kind of reach out
and be a really good mate to that person and check in with how they're going. Not fix the problem.
You don’t have to do that. It’s really just about going, “Right, I can see you’re troubling. Let me share
the load and help you work through that particular issue you’re dealing with.”
If someone out there like a young person does say, “Are you okay?” and their friend
or whomever says, “Well, actually, I do need some help and I’d love to talk about it,"
What can the person do next? What is the next step they can take?
Well sometimes it’s actually just about doing nothing except sitting with that person and being there for them.
It’s listening and not judging them. I think sometimes it’s really easy to say,
“Oh, things will get better,” or “look on the positive or the bright side.”
That's really not very helpful to the person who’s had the courage to say “I’m struggling.”
Listen, don’t judge them, don’t be flippant. Instead, help them think about what they might
do differently. If they’re struggling with school stuff, say, “Can we help you prioritise
your homework?” “Is it worthwhile talking to a teacher?” And then, importantly, make
sure you check back in with them. It’s not a one-off conversation.
These conversations need to keep going and progress and evolve.
So tell me about the bus then.
Well, last year we had an old school bus.
Okay.
So this year… and that was awful, because we were in the middle of the Northern Territory
and it actually broke down quite a number of times.
Sure.
Probably, ventilation is not great on those things.
Yeah, that’s right it’s terrible. So this year we thought, "We're gonna learn from last year."
So this is actually an old motor home.
Oh cool. Alright.
Better for working in and a bit more comfortable. But it’s bright and yellow and friendly
and hopefully people will stop and talk about it. But it’s a way for us to basically drive across
the country, host mini events, meet people and hopefully inspire them to be part of that
conversation movement.
As a team… I’m a member of the Hockeyroos, and a few of the girls jumped on board R U OK?
It’s close to a lot of our hearts. I thought, you know, this is a charity that
we really want to support, as it affects so many people, especially within sport.
Personally to me, I guess I’ve had friends and family that have dealt with depression.
I’ve had suicide close to me as well. That’s had a huge impact on myself.
It’s just one of those things that affects so many people you’re gonna know someone who’s having a bad day.
That’s why the cause is really close to me.
For me, it really rang a bell. I worked in the mining industry as a FIFO worker and I
had some really tough times working there and a couple friends of mine, as clichéd
as it sounds, at one point in time just called up and simply asked if I was okay, and at
that point I really wasn’t. I was having a tough time.
Just a bit of a pep talk with him really got things back on track for me.
It’s simply about your friends looking out for each other. Your family. Anybody.
And not having to actually counsel that person or fix the problem. Just being there as a friend,
As a partner, anyone at all. Even to strangers as well. It does mean a lot; just a simple
text or even Facebook message or something like that.
So how long is the trip in total? It’s right up until R U OK day, which is on the 10th of September
So about four and a half weeks. Fortunately we don’t have to sleep on the bus
but we do spend a lot of time in there. It does become like a home.
If I’m geared up, I think only time will tell.
Sure. Fair enough. Well Bec, good luck with the trip and thanks for chatting today.
Thank you so much.
Thanks for asking.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you for encouraging action.
Thank you for following up.
I love you.
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