The Whanganui region lost 12 people to suicide in the past year and the community will come together for a HopeWalk on Saturday to raise awareness and promote hope.
Health promoter Alaska Dobbs of Ngā Tai o te Awa said the walk will be a chance for people to have "safe conversations around the kaupapa".
"New Zealand suicide statistics show there were 606 deaths in the 2016 to 2017 period, an increase of 27 from the previous year.
"Within the Whanganui DHB region we lost 12 people to suicide, an average of 10.5 per year.
"The current pattern is that we're seeing mainly middle aged and older males being the predominant population within our suicide statistics".