Bereaved families from a Bay of Plenty town hit by a high suicide rate are successfully delivering suicide prevention messages.
The whanau are being credited with helping to reduce the number of Maori who are taking their own lives.
The latest annual suicide figures from chief coroner Judge Neil MacLean show 105 Maori took their own lives last year, down from the previous year's spike of 132.
Mental Health Foundation executive Witi Ashby says the families of people who have committed suicide in Kawerau are becoming powerful advocates of anti-suicide initiatives.
Those families are speaking out to help prevent other people going through that type of trauma because they know how to take them through some preventative measures and teach them the warning signs.
Mr Ashby says more and more kaumatua are opening up the marae to hear the suicide prevention message.
