Palmerston, Albany Youth Support Association and Haz Beanz team up for RU OK? Day awareness

Two community groups are banding together with a local business to promote the importance of having a conversation about mental health awareness.

Palmerston and Albany Youth Support Association will set up a stall outside Haz Beanz cafe on Thursday for RU OK? Day, doling out merchandise, cupcakes, pamphlets and — most importantly — their ears, to those who might not be feeling their best.

Palmerston support worker Anthony Csermelyi said they hope to encourage ongoing and meaningful conversations rather than a one-time question.

“For us at Palmerston, it’s around taking the tokenism out of the question, ‘how are you going?’” he said.

“It’s an easy thing to pass someone in the street, ask them and then not know what to do with that answer.

“They might say ‘I’m good’, when they might not be good at all or say ‘I’m not good’ — people get awkward, shrink away and just go, exit stage left.

“It’s about people when they’re asking the question, meaning it, and being able to respond appropriately when someone says no.

“So part of this day for us is helping people to have conversations around what they might do, listening to the answer, and then following up with support, a call to action and check-in as well.”

AYSA chief executive Ian Clarke said it was crucial to start conversations around mental health at a young age.

“We tend to talk a lot about the workplace and adults when discussing ‘are you OK’, but it actually starts at a very early age,” he said.

“Mental health certainly impacts young people and their families and they often find it hard to discuss.

“That’s one of the main things our support workers deal with, people not knowing where to go for help.

“We hope we can encourage everyone to come down for a chat and start that process.”

This year is the first Haz Beanz owner Jess Curran has been involved, stating she wanted her cafe to provide a “point of connection” for people.

“We see a lot of people day-to-day and build relationships with them,” she said.

“We want to be able to meaningfully ask ‘are you OK?’ to customers as they get their coffee and know what to do with the answer.”

Gemini Bookstore has also dressed its display window with yellow and black books in preparation for the day.

The stall will run from 9am to noon outside Haz Beanz on Thursday, September 12.