Emily Tapp has seen lives taken too soon.
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She has felt the despair, shed the tears, wondered - like many others do every day when suicide takes someone close to them - what could have been.
That is why the para-triathlete jumped at the chance to make a difference via the AIS' new partnership with Lifeline.
"I have had good friends pass away from suicide," Tapp said.
"Just to see that first hand and feel the effects of someone you have known and loved, they were young too, they were below 21, to see them gone is so sad.
"To see the numbers rising here in Australia, if we can positively change one person's life, that's a great step forward.
"I don't want a friend or a family member to have to go through what I have gone through. If we can bridge that gap with athletes helping where we can, then that's just a small part of helping out or fellow community.
"As an athlete, being able to give back to the community and Lifeline and mental health resonates with me on a personal level. I've been personally affected by suicide.
"To have that opportunity and platform to give back in such a positive way, I jumped at the chance."
Tapp is among a group of 21 athletes from a range of sports selected as Lifeline community custodians in an AIS-driven program designed to turn athletes into mental health advocates.
The athletes come from backgrounds such as basketball, athletics, diving, surfing, swimming, rowing, boxing and gymnastics.
Basketball star Jenna O'Hea is among them - she lost her uncle to suicide last year and was the driving force behind the WNBL's introduction of a mental health awareness round.
She wants people to know asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.
"My uncle was 46. People often tend to put on a brave face. You don't know what they're going through," O'Hea said.
"So just in our family, from this we're reaching out more and trying to have more open and honest conversations, which aren't always easy.
"It is a strength, not a weakness, to ask for help and I think a lot of people are willing to help as long as you ask. I'm proud to be one of the inaugural community custodians and spread the valuable messages."
Then there is five-time Paralympic rowing world champion Erik Horrie, who has "been at rock bottom". He battled back - now he wants everyone to know they can do the same.
"I know it takes more of a person to ask for help than someone who puts up a wall and says 'I've got no issues'," Horrie said.
"I wouldn't change anything that I've gone through in my life. Without it, I wouldn't be the athlete, or the person, I am. I didn't allow my childhood to define me. You're the person that designs your picture frame."
They have come together from various walks of life and Tapp believes this group can make a serious difference.
"We're a sporting nation and that's a big part of our identity," Tapp said.
"If we can see athletes openly talk about their struggles, what they have gone through, and the help they have received, it normalises and opens up the discussion for communication."