Demi Lavato kicked off the first night of her Tell Me You Love Me tour by inviting survivors of the Parkland, Florida school shooting up onto stage.
As part of her mental health campaign, Lavato said she wanted to ‘make sure their voices are being heard’ and insisted they entered the stage.
The shooting took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida earlier this month and killed 17 people.
In a statement to Us Weekly the 25-year-old said: ‘Tonight was our first night of the tour and it was incredibly special.
‘I was able to bring out and meet a few of the students that had to experience the shooting in Florida on the 14th. It was such an honour to meet them and hear their courageous stories.
‘I want to make sure their voices are being heard and we can provide them with the mental health and post-trauma care they need.’
The singer personally reached out to them on social media, and asked six survivors, Julius Castillo, Mackenzie Marie Chapman, Samantha Megan Deitsch, Maia Hebron, Eden Hebron and Sarah Stricker, to join her on stage.
During her concert, Lovato encouraged her fans to show their support to the Parkland Florida students by donating to her mental health charity CAST Foundation.
The programme was set up by her and is a nonprofit treatment facility that helps those with addiction and mental health, drawing inspiration and strength from her own highly publicised struggles
She revealed that the money raised will go towards mental health resources for the students, as the healing continues.
Lovato has been open as she has battled with bipolar disorder, addiction and bulimia and is now taking her treatment programme on tour in the hope of helping her fans.
More: Demi Lovato
She told Good Morning America: ‘It’s basically like a therapy session before the concerts and we have speakers from all over and we are also helping out with different charities from around the country.
‘So it will be an incredible, very moving and inspiring experience.’
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