R U OK? Day 2023: I’m here to hear

Published 14 September 2023

ADNSW celebrated R U OK? Day this year by hosting a staff event where we were fortunate to hear from two insightful guest speakers.

Melanie Marne from First Peoples Disability Network spoke about the advocacy work they are doing for Australia’s First Peoples with disability, their families and communities. We also got some great health and wellbeing tips from Department of Communities & Justice resident WHS wellbeing advisor, Ian Clayton.

After their talks, Melanie and Ian joined ADNSW staff for an afternoon tea catered by Darcy Street Project – a social enterprise focused on breaking the cycle of homelessness, unemployment and social exclusion by using education, coffee and food culture as a vehicle for social impact.

This year’s theme, ‘I'm here to hear’ calls on all of us to let the people we care about know we're here, to really hear them. Asking R U OK? is the first step, but we also need to genuinely listen to what comes next.