Like so many other products, services and initiatives, this website would greatly benefit from a prominently placed, buzzword-free, ELI5 explanation of what it actually does.
Finally I found this in one of the subpages that explains some of it:
> Got a feeling that someone you know or care about it isn’t behaving as they normally would? Perhaps they seem out of sorts? More agitated or withdrawn? Or they’re just not themselves. Trust that gut instinct and act on it. Learn more about the signs and when it's time to ask R U OK? here.
It's probably more easily understood in Australia where there's press and some corporate efforts to publicise it. Gives people an excuse to check in on friends who either need support or just want to vent to someone who understands.
The founder was prompted by the suicide of his father and then his own mental health battles.
Exactly, R U OK day is now a pretty big thing here, and I would say almost everyone now knows what the day is about. It's got pretty good buy in by the general public which is nice.
Someone on the Melbourne subreddit even baked R U OK cookies and was giving them away to strangers passing by their house. Hopefully made someone's day better.
I don't know, it seems like yet another superficial gimmick taking the place of real relationships. Giving out cookies on the street isn't getting to know someone and helping with their troubles.
The awareness has meant that I've asked people about how they're going in a non-trivial sense when I otherwise would not have. I suspect RUOK is most effective amongst friends rather than strangers in the street, and that cookies build awareness and encourage people to ask their friends, thus having some impact.
Finally I found this in one of the subpages that explains some of it:
> Got a feeling that someone you know or care about it isn’t behaving as they normally would? Perhaps they seem out of sorts? More agitated or withdrawn? Or they’re just not themselves. Trust that gut instinct and act on it. Learn more about the signs and when it's time to ask R U OK? here.