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.