Will Carrigan was a young man who seemed to have it all. He was a local football star with a close-knit family and a thriving business as an electrician.

What no-one knew was that he was enduring a silent struggle. On Christmas Day in 2015 he took his own life, at the age of 24.

It was a tragedy that now has the potential to transform the rural community of Scone, in the New South Wales Upper Hunter region.

Will's parents are driving a campaign to introduce what is known as "positive education" throughout more than 20 schools in the district to try to "immunise" young people against anxiety and depression. They also believe it is important to get sports clubs, workplaces and other community groups on board.

"With all the statistics they have out there now, my grandkids are next in line, so we've got to try and protect them if we can," Will's father Hilton Carrigan said.

"That's what it's all about now. Hopefully a tragedy will turn it into a positive."

Will's mother Pauline Carrigan said there was no time to waste.

"If the World Health's prediction that 14 years from now mental health will be the greatest health burden to mankind [is correct], then we as a family, as parents, as a community, we have to change it right now," she said.

"We have to turn the tide. We don't have a choice."

'We think, what could we have done?'

After the suicide of their son Will, Pauline and Hilton Carrigan are concerned for the safety of their grandsons. ( ABC News: Simon Beardsell )

Mr Carrigan said his son was "just an easygoing, fun-loving larrikin".

"Good worker, 'lecco by trade. He was just an ordinary country boy. Did his work, his sport and loved all his mates," he said.

"Will was 24 when he took his own life. That day I said to someone it was the worst day of my life.

"We never saw this coming ... Every day I think about it. Pauline and I, we think, what could we have done?"

Mrs Carrigan spoke to Will the day before he died.

"He actually told me he'd never felt as tired in his whole life," she said.

"I mean we're farming background and my answer [was]: 'Well, it's Christmas tomorrow sweetie, you'll have a week off so you'll have a chance to get a sleep, don't be silly ... you're successful'.

"He was extremely successful, but we do believe, well I believe in my heart, that his success was too much and he was looking down the barrel of work and work ... and he was tired and I think when he looked out he thought, I don't know, 'This is not worth it'.

"How does a boy who has everything explain to someone that they're not well, and it's not what they want or it's not how they saw it going? I think that was his struggle. He can't tell anyone."

Mr Carrigan said men were not good at discussing their feelings.

"We seem to bottle everything up and keep it all inside of us which is not good for you," he said.

"It's not a taboo word you know, depression or suicide. We just got to talk about things, it's just got to be an open book, you know?"

'You can look at all things with the cup half-full'

Hilton Carrigan on the farm with his grandkids. ( ABC News: Simon Beardsell )

Mrs Carrigan said after her son died, she "had this massive need within me to work out what happened" and started to Google "suicide".

"I saw the most amazing statistics — 26 per cent of Australian youth are suffering some form of mental illness or anxiety right here right today, and I thought, no, something has to change here," she said.

"I started to pop onto websites for positive psychology education.

"I realised from when I was looking at these programs that you could immunise children for their future, teach them resilience and give them a cup half-full [approach] that prepares them for the knockbacks they're going to take.

"Everyone has times in their life when they think they're not going to cope but you can be taught from a young age to get back up and go again."

She reached out to Professor Toni Noble, an educational psychologist with expertise in student wellbeing.

"Pauline first rang me back in April and told me about Will and told me about her vision to introduce mental health and wellbeing into the schools," Professor Noble said.

Starting Where There's A Will

Mrs Carrigan set up a charity called Where There's A Will with a mission to bring positive education to the Upper Hunter community.

So far 21 schools in the Upper Hunter region are on board with the initiative. One of the schools which has signed on is St Mary's Primary School in Scone.

"It's a unique venture, I think," St Mary's principal Jim Fitzgerald said.

"The collaboration between schools will be wonderful because the children, no matter where they go to school, they'll all have the same language which they're hearing consistently, which will help to reinforce the message.

"The children will leave school with skills to cope in life, so when they come up against those hard moments, and we all do that, they'll be able to manage them."

'It takes a village to raise a child'

Hilton and Pauline Carrigan at the final planning meeting for a community forum on positive education. ( ABC News: Simon Beardsell )

At the final planning meeting for a public forum about positive education in Scone, Mrs Carrigan said it was vital the philosophy was "adopted by the whole community".

"It takes a village to raise a child," she said.

"It can't be taught in a classroom and not followed though in the community, so it's going to require business houses, coaches, teachers, parents to be aware.

"Now how this is going to take place is still a little bit of an unknown for all of us, because it's never been done before."

About 500 locals turned up for the community forum at Scone High School.

About 500 people went to the Where There's A Will community forum at Scone High School. ( ABC News: Simon Beardsell )

"The biggest misconception we have as a nation is that the road is the greatest risk to our youth," Mrs Carrigan told the audience.

"I tell you now that when your young son drives away tonight he is three times more likely to die at his own hand than in a car accident. Why did I not know this?

"They warned us about the sun, the road toll and AIDS but it seems mental health is a very dirty secret.

"Will did not have the voice to speak out. I asked in a phone conversation only hours before his death, 'Are you OK?' and he said, 'I just keep having these bad moods, mum'.

"I didn't know what it was about. He didn't know what he was saying and I didn't know what I was saying. I know now. Please do not find out out how I found out."

It was a message that struck home for some of the young men at the forum.

"It's got to be talked about ... especially on the land. I think there's a lot of cases of depression out there. We all need to talk about it and come together as a community," one teenager said.

Where There's A Will is holding a two-day mental health and first aid course for men in the Upper Hunter in leadership roles in sporting teams, workplaces and community groups on February 25-26. For more information contact info@uhwheretheresawill.com.au.