GONZALES — The father of Kyren Lacy teamed up with a Baton Rouge-area nonprofit organization to address mental health within the community.

Kenneth Lacy lost his son, Kyren Lacy, in April of this year.

"When my son took his life, he was going through something mentally, but now guess what, it's not him, it's the family that's got to go through it," Lacy said.

Lacy says Kyren always made sure everyone around him felt good. He says it was hard to see that Kyren was struggling because he was always pouring out to other people.

"Mental health is a big part of our community that a lot of people tend to overlook and kind of run from and not talk about," Lacy said.

Lacy says his goal is to help others, so they don't have to feel the same pain that he is going through.

"It hurts, but like I said, you have to turn that hurt into something positive because if not it's going to eat you up, and it would consume you, and it's something that you let consume you, you have to use it and try to make something positive of it," he said.

During Monday night's Call to Action hosted by non-profit organization "LEAD", the focus centered on mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Eldridge LeBlanc, founder of LEAD, says that with the holidays approaching, they want to share the message to people battling with mental health that they are not alone and the community is there for them.

"We know depression, it sets in, whether someone lost somebody during the holiday or just anytime out of the year, you start to think about your loved ones," LeBlanc said.

The meeting also included a panel of mental health advocates and medical professionals.