It was "a tsunami" of grief Donna Anderson never saw coming.

The suicide of one of her son's friends marked the start of a series of events that would eventually rob her of two boys.

Ms Anderson's 17-year-old son Jake was "driven, a high achiever, kind and funny".

"He was social, never any real trouble, an excellent hockey player and had a vision of joining the Navy to become a medic," she said.

Jake was accepted into the Australian Navy in 2015 and was posted to HMAS Penguin in Sydney.

The following year he returned home for a funeral after one of his mates took his own life.

Within a week Jake had done the same.

"Jakey was three weeks shy of his 18th birthday," Ms Anderson said.

Soon after, Ms Anderson's eldest son, Hayden, began to struggle after turning to drugs to numb the pain from his brother's death.

"I called every agency, drug and alcohol addiction provider, crisis emergency hotline, only to be handballed to another agency, another phone number, which would lead to a triage phone call appointment for three weeks' time," Ms Anderson said.

By February 2018, less than two years after Jake's death, it was too late.

"He took his own life and the loving boy with the million-dollar smile was gone," Ms Anderson said.

"To bury two children — it shouldn't happen."

Hayden (left) turned to drugs to cope with the death of his brother Jake. ( Supplied )

High school hit by spate of suicides

In 2016, the year Jake died, Ms Anderson was one of several mothers in WA's Peel region who were left grieving the loss of a child to suicide.

Four Mandurah boys died between December 2015 and April 2016.

Three of them, including Jake, went to the same high school.

Jake and Hayden Langdon died less than two years apart. ( ABC News: Rhiannon Shine )

"Prior to the [deaths], accessing crisis care or support for mental health was very challenging," Ms Anderson said.

"It would take multiple calls to various providers to receive support. Many times, it could take weeks to receive an appointment before help could be available."

A spate of youth suicides can rock a close-knit community and this type of tragic tale is not unique to Mandurah or the Peel region, with similar stories emerging across the country.

But while the pace of change is often frustratingly slow in the wake of such tragedy, the response in the Peel region was relatively swift.

Tragedy a catalyst for community action

Following the deaths, the community rallied together to push for a rethink of how services in the region were delivered.

It resulted in the $9 million Peel Health Hub (PHH), which houses nine services under the same roof including GPs, counselling and employment training programs.

Rather than operating as separate entities, all the services inside the building work together.

GP Down South spokeswoman Eleanor Britton, who was the driving force behind the PHH, said the system was previously fragmented and extremely difficult for young people to navigate.

Four Mandurah boys ended their lives between December 2015 and April 2016. ( ABC News: Tom Forrest )

"Obviously what we were doing in the past wasn't working and we needed to try different ways of working together and being more efficient and effective in helping people," she said.

"Each of the organisations bring their own funding and we are all doing what we have always done under the one roof but the referral process between each other, communication and the warm handover with clients [is new]."

A victim of its own success

Ms Britton said the PHH, which celebrates its first anniversary this week, had become so popular it was now struggling to meet demand.

She said the number of Peel Youth Medical Service (PYMS) appointments had doubled since that service moved into the hub.

"When those suicides were happening in the community, 40 per cent of our clientele had mental health and drug and alcohol issues," she said.

"It is now 80 per cent.

"We are a victim of our own success. We know the problem is out there and we are addressing it, but it is putting a huge amount of pressure on our clinicians."

The Peel Health Hub has changed the way young people access health services. ( Supplied )

Ms Britton said to ensure no one was turned away from the hub or fell through the cracks, it needed funding to employ two full-time care coordinators.

"We estimate that, of the walk-ins that attend the health hub, 50 per cent of those would have otherwise ended up at Peel Health Campus Emergency Department," she said.

The care coordinators would be highly skilled mental health clinicians who would assess walk-in patients and link them with the appropriate services.

A spokeswoman for the WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) said funding for the proposal would be provided through the Federal Government's Primary Health Network program.

But it was unclear whether funding for two full-time care coordinators would be delivered.

"It is expected a decision will be made within the next fortnight," she said.

Pinjarra mother Donna Anderson lost her two sons to suicide in less than two years. ( ABC News: Rhiannon Shine )

Ms Anderson said she hoped funding for the hub would come through.

"If the health hub can save some of our young ones then I just think that is a great thing and needs all of the support it can get," she said.