Few in number but a powerful message

Kaitaia's Hope Walk setting off fromTe Ahu on Saturday morning. Photo / Peter Jackson

Not a lot of people gathered at Te Ahu on Saturday morning for this year's Hope Walk, but Dawn Samuels was far from deterred.

"There aren't many of us, but we're the ones who are going to show Kaitaia that it doesn't have to be like this,"she said.

Samuels,who was remembering a cousin and a sister-in-law,said that as the mother of five she knew life wasn't always easy, but everyone had a role to play in supporting those who needed assistance.

"We need strong people to show them that it's alright to look for help," she said.

"We can't help them on the other side, but we can help them now.

"Heaps of things are going on here but the young are being left behind. We have to show them, and their parents, that we are here for them."

Another marcher said more than 10 people under the age of 30 had taken their lives within the community this year, and the walk offered an opportunity for those who were grieving, or who were still "going through it," to share their stories and emotions with others,

The HopeWalk Suicide Prevention Movement, based in Auckland, is a charitable trust that stabes suicide awareness/prevention events and projects including the Hope Walk, Lights 4 Lives and Link 4 Life. It describes itself as a grassroots movement of hope for those who have affected by suicide, working with other like-minded organisations and community groups to provide a platform for suicide prevention.

"We value the fact that not one group has the solution, but we are #StrongerTogether #HopeWalk," it says.

The Kaitaia group walked from Te Ahu, through the main street to McDonald's and back to Te Ahu.