LIFELINE'S Mega Book Fair, held in Bathurst over the weekend, was more than just a fundraiser for the charity, it was also a chance to put mental health in the spotlight.
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While the book fair raised in excess of $26,000, Alex Ferguson, from Lifeline Central West said it was also an opportunity for the crisis support service to reach out to the community.
Regarding the book fair, he said it was "fantastic."
"We had a very solid day on Saturday, and we're only open four hours today (Sunday) but it's been very busy.
And while figures have yet to be finalised, Mr Ferguson said they took roughly $26,000 on Saturday alone.
"The support has been great, if anything we've probably been a bit busier then usual."
Mr Ferguson said it was impossible to say which genre was most popular, saying the books "sold equally well across the board."
"Kids, military, religion, cooking. You name it they were all popular."
He thanked the generosity of the local community, saying it was especially noticeable on the front door.
"We were asking for a gold coin donation on entry, but people were spotting us $5 or $10 on their way in and saying keep it."
Mr Ferguson said casual conversations he had with people over the weekend were about their great concern around the drought and the impact it's having on the community.
"That concern is coming through everywhere," he said.
Another thing he noticed was people's preparedness to talk about their own mental health experiences.
"I've been coming her 10, 11, 12 years and what I've really noticed is people are far more open now to talking about their own mental health issues. They are quite prepared to talk across the table to me about where they have been personally.
"In the bad old days people didn't get to talk about it," he said.
"It's a significant change, and there needs to be more significant change and more focus on the effect of suicide," he said.
He said Bathurst is a town (like many other regional areas) with significant mental health issues within the community, and he called on our leaders to prioritise programs that focus on reducing levels of domestic violence and self harm in our community.
"We need our leaders to recognise the situation and help change the direction.
"Look at the work being done to cut back the road toll. People are manic about the road toll, but the number of lives claimed in road crashes is one third the lives lost by self harm.
"We need community leaders to shine a light on the issue," he said.