Those who step out from the darkness on to the stage at QEII Square can't help but remark, almost in wonder, at its effect on them.

Between the warmth of flickering fires and twinkle of fairy lights, the soulful music, dance and poetry, and the crowd huddled together in the cold, it's a night that invites intimacy.

It's a night that invites conversations - a night that both comforts and captivates.

It's a night where people come together in the dark on the longest night of the year to shine a light into the pain, grief, stigma and often untold stories of mental ill-health and suicide.

And in inviting the community close, the event has seen the most heart-breaking - and heart-lifting - stories laid bare.

For more than a decade, the Winter Solstice has given people a voice - to bravely tell their stories and to speak for those who can't find the words.

It is indeed "the most extraordinary night", says former guest speaker Tracey Spicer.

"Everyone here has a story," she said in 2017.

"A story of heartbreak, or a story of hope, or a story of just living day by day.

"Everyone's story is different but by sharing our stories we have solidarity in that commonality."

And it is in sharing the stories of others that we find hope and healing in ourselves, says Solstice stalwart Father Peter Mac-Leod Miller.

The rector of St Matthew's Anglican Church, Albury says the power of the event "is the collection of stories people bring to the Winter Solstice and also take away and process".

In a reflection shared online in the lead-up to next month's event, Father Peter says faith and storytelling are inextricably linked.

"In every spiritual tradition, it's the power of the story that takes the movement forward," he says.

Jesus answered questions and explained important issues with a story, Father Peter explains.

"I think with the Winter Solstice it's much the same; (people) find the stories of others, they imagine how they would fit in that story, they take that story away and it has a real effect."

Storytelling has been sacred to Joe Williams' people for thousands and thousands of years.

The proud Wiradjuri/Wolgalu man and long-time friend of the Winter Solstice says in his culture, everything has a story.

"Stories hold validation of who we are, and the experiences of how we came to be," he says.

"When we're sitting and holding space and sharing story, it validates what we're going through.

"It validates what other people are experiencing."

Williams believes sharing stories allows people to feel seen, to feel connection.

"Feeling seen, and sharing connection, is one of the greatest healing components anyone can have," he says.

He, more than most, knows the importance of that journey.

That sharing stories has the capacity to heal.

In 2017, the former NRL star and boxing champ spoke at the Winter Solstice of his battle with mental illness and the enemy he fought so fiercely off the field - the one that nearly took his life.

As he spoke, he marvelled at the shared solace of the event: "Being out here. Braving the cold. Showing that you care ... Anyone that you've lost to suicide, they're here tonight. You grip on to them. You love them. Close your eyes and you talk to them."

This week leading Indigenous mental health advocate Donna Stanley spoke of the vital importance of the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum.

That the stories, the voices of her people are heard.

As nominations for this year's Australian Mental Health Prize opened, the 2022 Indigenous prize winner said: "The mental health of First Nations communities is disproportionately affected by systemic racism, intergenerational trauma, and ongoing social and economic disadvantage."

"It is important that the debate is respectful of the lived experiences of First Nations peoples and must include a range of perspectives so that all Australians can make an informed decision when it comes time to vote."

Professor Allan Fels, co-chair of the Australian Mental Health Prize Advisory Committee, says it is "crucial that we acknowledge and address the hardships our communities are enduring".

At the same time he recognises there is "an army of individuals working tirelessly to improve mental well-being" and called on communities to pay tribute to the mental health heroes in their midst.

In 2016, Albury's Annette Baker was named as a finalist in that prize for her work helping to shine a light on the silent grief of suicide with the creation of the annual Albury-Wodonga Winter Solstice.

A free community event where people feel safe to share their stories.

Indeed in 2021, veteran journalist and six-time Walkley Award winner Kerry O'Brien spoke publicly, for the first time, about his brother Paul O'Brien's suicide.

He admitted that he had intended to talk more generally about mental health in his address to the Winter Solstice gathering - and "was avoiding spending serious time talking about my brother".

"The memory that I will take to my own grave is looking into my mother's eyes ... seeing the raw pain and the agony," he recalled.

"It's only now, as I face trying to put these things into words ... that I understand how important it is that we share."

And so, once again, the community is invited to come together for a night of sharing, and of storytelling, on June 21.

A night where there is no place for taboo in those desperately needed conversations about mental-ill health and suicide in our communities.

A night to hold space and to hope these stories might help pave the way for a brighter future.