Scone's Pauline Carrigan, the founder of Where There's a Will mental health organisation, receives OAM for services to youth

From Scone, Mrs Carrigan took on the role of educating everyone she could in the region and beyond about mental health, following the death of her son Will by suicide in 2015.

Frustrated with what was available for people like herself, who had suffered a tragic loss, and others struggling with mental health she founded the charity Where There's a Will in 2016. "The very first government official I spoke to when I first began this journey told me people don't like to talk about mental health," she said.

Today she is proud of the fact Where There's A Will has spoken to, and educated hundreds of people, especially the young about mental health - being proactive not reactive is her motto. "I cannot thank the Upper Hunter community enough for their efforts and financial support for Where There's A Will - they are truly a community that has embraced us and they want to make a difference in people's lives," she said.

A number of years ago Mrs Carrigan said the aim of Where There's a Will was to be as successful in their mental health awareness campaign as the Cancer Council has been in their Slip Slop Slap message.

Mrs Carrigan said the last time she saw her son Will he was wearing the obligatory sunwise big hat, zinc and sunscreen. "Will knew how to protect himself from the sun and we want to teach people how best to protect themselves from self harm related to mental health issues," she said.

There is no doubting she has achieved that aim in her community and is particularly proud now that other communities, like Gunnedah and regions like the Southern Highlights, are looking to replicate the program of education and awareness that is the basis of her campaign.

"We have to train the next generation so they can take care of themselves - they must learn the language to use and how to express their feelings. This requires a generational change through education," she said. "Teach the skills to live optimally."

Statistics on youth suicide alone should prompt us all to act with Beyond Blue reporting one in four young people experiences a mental health condition. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15 to 24, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Mrs Carrigan said mental health among young people is worsening so something isn't working. "In the Upper Hunter we have decided to invest in our community and not wait for outside help," she said.

"The result today is every teacher and child aged over two has been trained on strength based positive education. We have given them hope for the future."

She wanted to thank her community and other sponsors of Where There's A Will for enabling her to make a difference and receive this honour.

In two weeks Group 21 rugby league will host a Mindset Round which is simply wonderful and shows how connected out community is to our cause," she said.

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