'My whole world shattered': 14yo sets up Facebook support page for other families after mother's suicide.

Kira Dart’s father was murdered when she was a baby and her mother took her own life in March this year. At just 14 years old, the ripple effect of suicide has been momentous in Kira’s short life.

So much so the young teenager has set up a Facebook page called Beyond the Dark, to help people like her mother overcome depressive illness.

Her message is simple and clear: If you think your family is better off without you, they are not.

New research has identified suicide as a serious public health problem in Australia.

The study, jointly conducted by Suicide Prevention Australia and the University of New England, surveyed more than 3,000 people, and found that 85 per cent of respondents knew someone who had taken their own life.

The report has recommended that a national suicide prevention strategy be implemented as a matter of urgency in Australia.

‘I’d see her upset sometimes and she’d just put that smile on’

Kira’s mother Bianca had always suffered from depression, even as a child, but when her relationship with her partner broke down, her mental health deteriorated.

Bianca’s partner packed up the house and took their two youngest children to Albury in New South Wales.

“That broke mum’s heart and she just … I’d never seen her so sad before,” Kira said.

“After the boys were taken it was when it hit mum the hardest.”

Kira was heartbroken when her brothers left, but she said the time living alone with her mother brought them closer together.

“When they got taken, that’s when … we worked together with everything and we never separated except for school and that.

“We did everything together and she was a best friend.”

Kira said she loved everything about her mother, remembering many happy times together.

“Mum was very, very good at drawing and I think I picked some of my skills up from her.

“So we would sit together and we’d have our drawing sessions and we’d read books together and we’d go to the park with the boys and you know, just that happy family time.”

Kira said her mother tried to hide her depression from her, but Kira knew something was not right.

“I’d see her upset sometimes and she’d just put that smile on her face when I’d look at her, but behind that smile was the sad eyes and everything,” she said.

“And I would say, ‘Mum, it’s alright, you can speak to me’, but she would hide a lot of things from me to not make me upset.

“She was my mum and I would do anything to help her and through that time I tried my best to make her happy.

“And we did, we had happy times even though she was sad, she still enjoyed the times and I just tried my best that I could.”

‘She should be here, I’m only 14’

Kira remembers the moment she found out her mother had killed herself.

“My whole world had shattered when I found out,” she said.

“I just thought, ‘No, this can’t be true’, and I was just, it was the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to experience and I wish it never happened.”

She was at her brother’s grandmother’s house for dinner when the police pulled up.

“They asked me to come sit inside and they had to have a talk to me and they said, ‘I’m sorry to say this to you Kira but your mother has passed away’.

“And at that stage … I thought maybe she’s just had a car crash or something.

‘Then I said, ‘How?’ and she said, ‘Your mother committed suicide’ and that’s when it all kind of felt real at the start a little bit cause I knew she was battling this demon.

“And then I just, the day fades away in my mind because I just was so upset.”

Kira said she knew her mother was depressed but she never thought her mother was suicidal.

“Losing my mum is one of the hardest things … she should be here. I’m only 14.”

Kira’s mother left her a short note.

“It wasn’t very long but she told me that she couldn’t live anymore because of her illness and she said she’s sorry she let me down as a mother because of her illness, but it’s not true,” she said.

“And she also told me how much she loved me and how sorry she was and she told me where she wanted me to go, and she finished it off with, ‘I love you always, mum’.”

Kira said she wishes she could have been there the day it happened.

“I’d just say, ‘oh mum, what are you doing? You can’t do this, you’ve got three beautiful children that adore you. You’re our everything, you’re our mum, even though you’re struggling.

“‘You’re still a good mum, you’re still everything’. You’re still the rock of the family’.

“Mum was my world because it was us, it’s been us for 14 years not having dad.

“Words can’t explain how much that you need them. They’re the person, that person that teaches you how to grow up and how to be the person you’re going to become.”

On Kira’s Facebook page she shares her story and hopes to support other families who might be struggling with mental illness.

“Every week I’ll post something up, it may be a little quote or it may be a video about depression and shows someone has suffered as well,” she said.

“It’s just there to help people know that they’re not alone and that’s my aim.

“People have messaged me and told me how grateful they are that they’ve found this page and my story has stopped them from being in suicidal thoughts.

“One lady said to me she was going to try harder for her children just reading my story.”

Kira has a message for adults who think might think their families would be better off without them.

“Mum thought that if she left, everything would be better and that everyone would be better off without her and it’s not true,” she said.

“It’s just that demon inside you that’s telling you this and you’ve got to slam that demon down and say, ‘no’ and you’ve got to talk to people, and you can’t hide.

“You’ve got to tell people how you feel and your family, your family is the most important thing and they’re there for you.

“And sometimes people think, ‘oh they’ve got depression, well I better stay away or something’, because they’re sad but no, but you can’t.

“You’ve got to be there with someone, you’ve got to tell them how much you love them and everything and it could just save them.”

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

© 2015 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Read the ABC Disclaimer here.

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner or in Australia, contact Lifeline 13 11 14 for support or beyondblue 1300 22 4636.