{"id":24832,"date":"2019-09-24T14:17:40","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T04:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?p=24832"},"modified":"2019-09-25T09:43:52","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T23:43:52","slug":"tunes-for-tommy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/tunes-for-tommy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tunes for Tommy"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOM Fraser was passionate about cars, their mechanics and his dog, Santa. He was a generous mate to those near and new, he had a big laugh, and he loved his music loud.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Tom\u2019s parents, his two brothers and friends lost him to suicide.<\/p>\n

Throughout his 29 years, he had lived constantly with hereditary anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder and bullying at school, in the workplace and in a personal relationship.<\/p>\n

Now, Tom\u2019s mother and father, Lyn and Scott Fraser are working to try and ensure other families are never in their situation. They don\u2019t want to be \u201csurvivors of suicide,\u201d they want to be active.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, Tom sought help from many medical practitioners. Over the last six months of his life, his mental health declined, and he felt extremely lonely, although he often had visits regularly from many of his friends,\u201d Mrs Fraser said.<\/p>\n

Tom had a clear understanding of his mental health and would express to his family when he was particularly unwell, but felt like no one could truly empathise. Then he made up his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just said, \u2018there\u2019s no hope, I can\u2019t see any future… I\u2019ve had enough.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was desperate for help. In the psych ward, there\u2019s only 12 beds, and he was turned away. It\u2019s not good enough,\u201d Mrs Fraser said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early hours of Friday, May 10th<\/sup> everything became too much for him and he tragically took his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTommy\u201d was known for his \u201cepic tunes and big hugs.\u201d Saturday 5 October, music and mateship will blend thoughtfully at the North Britain Hotel for Tommy\u2019s Big Day Out.<\/p>\n

The afternoon of entertainment from 2pm to 5pm, has been organised as an awareness generator and fundraiser for the Black Dog Institute, a research hub aiming to reduce mental illness, its stigma and prevent suicide.<\/p>\n

With Shane Brennan as MC, local musicians Ash Egan, Anna Bilbrough, Harry Lamb, Freya Valpied, Max Edwards and Penny Nulty will perform varying genres of tunes over three hours.<\/p>\n

Scott Fraser is a musician, teacher and busker. His son had \u201can ear for music.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved old and modern stuff. You didn\u2019t drive anywhere with Tom because it had to be on all the time,\u201d he laughed. \u201cBut that was good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like going out busking, and Tom would set all of that up for me, hands on. He was good company, and he\u2019s always with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Fraser said Tommy would have liked his Big Day Out, which will simply be great entertainment for all tastes.<\/p>\n

Starting with a $10 entry fee, exclusive t-shirts will be available, silent auctions will run and a spinning wheel will determine the lucky winners of goods, accommodation, massages and vouchers donated by local businesses.<\/p>\n

But although community support of this initiative has been \u201cincredible\u201d for Mrs Fraser, ultimately she said local psych services are still \u201cappalling\u201d in the face of a mental health \u201cepidemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur city should come together as one and work towards making sure that our city does not rate in the high suicide rates in our state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can strike any family, whether you\u2019re rich or poor. Far too many families, particularly in Ballarat, have suffered similar circumstances like ours, and no family should ever have to face these tragic circumstances,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one life is one too many.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are unable to attend but wish to show your support, head to teamblackdog.everydayhero.com\/au\/tommy-s-big-day-out<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOM Fraser was passionate about cars, their mechanics and his dog, Santa. He was a generous mate to those near and new, he had a big laugh, and he loved his music loud. Earlier this year, Tom\u2019s parents, his two brothers and friends lost him to suicide. Throughout his 29 years, he had lived constantly […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":24833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-24832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTunes for Tommy - Golden Plains Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/tunes-for-tommy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tunes for Tommy - Golden Plains Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TOM Fraser was passionate about cars, their mechanics and his dog, Santa. 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