Rock music and health awareness local groups filled Bergfeld Park in Tyler on Friday night. The collaborative concert event came together with a goal to bring suicide prevention awareness to community members in East Texas through a vision by local nonprofit Tiny Evie Rocks.
Michael Domingos, co-founder and executive director of Tiny Evie Rocks, said the event originated by wanting to fulfill the need of spreading awareness about mental health and suicide in East Texas.
Bringing awareness is an important thing to Domingos as he lost his 12-year-old laughter Evie three years ago due to suicide, which is what originally influenced him and his wife to start the nonprofit.
“Evie loved rock music. So with her love of music and wanting to raise awareness about mental health, it just seemed like a logical fit,” he said.
Once the idea was thrown in the air about wanting a concert but also a place for awareness, mental health organizations were ready to come together for the event, said Domingos.
According to Domingos, the main idea of the event was to start the conversation about a topic that’s very important but overlooked in East Texas.
“The biggest thing, I think, is this is really a conversation starter for the city of Tyler, because you hear the music and you see the band, but the biggest thing is, it’s a conversation starter for the community where you hear the bands, and you come over to see what’s going on. Then you hear the story behind the concert, you hear about the mental health, and then there’s all these resources,” he said. “So for those that are struggling with mental health, it’s the opportunity to learn or to have a conversation with all these organizations, it just helps the community for those that are struggling with mental health, and helps them to see that they’re not alone.”
Domingos is driven to shed light on mental health with the belief that his daughter Evie would want them to help others who are struggling.
“We like to say, Evie would want us to think that or would want us to know that, it’s not just a small group of people that struggle with mental health,” he said.
Domingos is determined to show Tyler that there are many local groups and resources for those battling mental health issues.
Another person wanting to bring awareness was music artist Lisa Lane who performed along with other artists Chloe Moore, The HoJames Band and Panik Device.
Lane mentioned that as soon as she found out about the event it was a yes from her, especially since the event hit close to home.
“I perform all around East Texas and this is something very close to my heart. My dad committed suicide when I was little and every since then, nobody really talks about that, it’s kind of like something you don’t really brag about,” she said. “I think it’s really good that the community came together and hopefully this continues every year to get the word that there are people that want you here and that there’s hope and help for you in the community.”
With knowing the importance of reminding others about their value, Lane hopes those who attended the event know that they are loved and there’s places to seek help, she said.
“I hope that at least they know that there’s somewhere to turn to if you’re having some problems and if you need some help that there are organizations that are here to help and there’s people here that love you. If you don’t have that at home, then you’ll have that somewhere in the community,” she said.
Lane mentioned that one of her favorite things about the event was seeing the unity on Friday night.
“The world is pretty hard right now and it’s reassuring to know that there are people in Tyler that can come together and be friends with one another and help each other through things. I think Tyler really needs that,” she said.
List of event sponsors consisted of the Andrews Behavioral Health Center of Tyler, Neurodivergent Advocates of East Texas, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – East Texas Chapter.
Advocates that were onsite during the event included NAMI Tyler, Counseling Nook for Trauma, Mission 22, Smith County Clubhouse, TAG, the Tyler Police Department Mosaic Counseling Centers of East Texas, Clover Educational Consulting Group, and UT Tyler Agrisafe.
Besides informational services and music performances, attendees also enjoyed food from local food trucks.
For more information on Tiny Evie Rocks nonprofit, go to tinyeevierocks.com.
