Dozens gathered in Sydney Mines, N.S. Tuesday evening for a vigil in memory of a young teen who took her own life.

Many people wore T-shirts with a photo of 13-year-old Madison Wilson, who died by suicide on Father’s Day, and released balloons in her memory.

Her mother and father attended the vigil, where they asked community members to write messages on the balloons, detailing what the past few weeks have been like for them.

“Children need to express how they’re feeling, and maybe writing a message on a balloon can help, and to let it out to say that they miss her, and stop bullying, anything,” said the teen’s mother, Amylynn Wilson.

“She’s always in our hearts and minds,” said her father, Chris Royal. “She’s just like our little angel. We loved her to death, and she will always be here, no matter what.”

The family also says it’s important to speak out against bullying after a string of teen suicides in Cape Breton.

“I want it out there to have the children know that I’m going through this, we’re going through this, and no one should have to,” said Amylynn Wilson.

Health professionals have held two public meetings this week to address the community’s concerns. Dozens of people attended the meetings to take a stand against bullying also show their support for the grieving families.

A prominent mental health expert from Halifax also spent the day hearing firsthand from the grieving families of three Cape Breton teens who lost their lives to suicide in recent months.

Dr. Stan Kutcher says he’s touched and also surprised by the candor of the families and their willingness to help others.

“Even though they are going through a difficult grieving process, the common theme is they want to come up with some ideas so that, in the future, other kids will have a better opportunity,” said Kutcher.

“The anger that we have at the loss of our children should bring us together as a community. Not laying blame here, here, here, here, but saying, ‘What can I do to make this better?’”

Kutcher says he plans to make several recommendations to the province's health and education ministers, including revisiting the provincial suicide prevention framework, mental health literacy initiatives and classroom-based resources.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore and The Canadian Press