Tyler-Jane Lumsden held the event at The Tudor in Tamworth, driven to make change in mental health care, she said, after losing several friends to suicide.

“I’m really concentrating on pushing the agenda to the powers that be now that I’m confident I’ve got a whole community behind me. The turnout was overwhelming: the Tudor was packed top to bottom.”

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Aleyce Simmonds, Kyle Cartner, Maddi Lyn, Jared Scott, Beau Hatch, Amy Pain, Jarred Taylor and Ryan Morris donated their time to perform at the July 4 event.

Raffles and an auction were also held, with a poster alone going for $500.

Miss Lumsden said it was a cause close to many attendees’ hearts.

“A lot of the comments I heard were in relation to personal experience or having lost family member or friend to suicide, or even watching one struggle,” she said.

“Almost everyone I spoke to has a story close to home.”

Miss Lumsden has struggled with mental illness herself and credits the Dean House service with saving her life after a suicide attempt.

She said she was writing to politicians push her agenda.

She wants to see more staff, a dedicated short-stay facility in the hospital for people in mental health crisis, and improvements to early intervention care.

“Of course $10,000 won’t be able to achieve all of this, but it shows we as a community mean business and we’re willing to get our hands dirty for change.”