But that same night on the train trip back home after the ‘’most beautiful day’’ at Sydney’s Luna Park with her kids, the West Wollongong woman got a reality check that not everyone shared her views.

‘’Our train stopped at Sutherland for ages and we were told the reason for this was because someone had died on the track,’’ Ms Milenkovic said.

‘’Well it just brought it home to me the difference between what that person must have been feeling and the feeling that I was feeling during that day about how wonderful life was.

‘’How happy I was to be alive and then that night to know that someone was in that much pain that they'd do something as final and as violent as throwing themselves in front of a train.

‘’It just really got to me. I couldn’t sleep. I just kept thinking about the pain this person must have felt, how lonely they must have been, how awful that must have been.’’

Ms Milenkovic decided that night that she would hold a ‘hug-a-thon’ in Wollongong on Thursday, September 8 for R U OK? Day.

For three hours from 7am the life coach and youth worker and about 30 of her friends will be at the Wollongong Harbour precinct giving free hugs to whoever wants one.

‘’I saw that free hugs campaign on YouTube years ago and I thought it was a wonderful idea. After what happened [train] I thought why not do it here in Wollongong for R U OK? Day,’’ she said.

Ms Milenkovic said hugging was more than just a way to break the ice with somebody.

‘’Hugging has been scientifically proven to be good for your physical and emotional health. It releases the feelgood hormones oxytocin, dopamine and seratonin and has been shown to reduce inflammation and heart rate,’’ she said.

‘’I’ve intentionally made our event a big time period from 7-10am because I want it to be an actual opportunity for people to connect, mingle and sit around and talk and come and go as they please.

‘’I would love to make this ‘hug-a-thon’ a yearly event and see this as the start of something really big for our community.’’