CHAMPION community group Southern Downs Suicide Prevention is working to 'start a ripple' in Warwick.

The group's director, Johno Felton, said suicide was not being talked about enough, and through the group meet-ups, hoped to remind residents that Warwick was not immune to mental illness.

"Suicide has been cropping up too much here," Mr Felton said at the R U OK? morning tea yesterday.

The ex-serviceman was personally affected by suicide in 2010 when his daughter took her own life.

Mr Felton said there were many reasons mental illness and suicidal thoughts could creep into a person's life.

"There are factors that can affect someone's life and that's domestic violence, a break-up, drugs and alcohol, financial issues and bullying," Mr Felton said.

"Even midlife crisis is affecting residents in Warwick.

"Everyone wants the big house and the nice car, but that doesn't always work."

Warwick police officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Jamie Deacon was invited to speak at the morning tea.

"It's all about just getting the conversation (about mental illness) going," Snr Sgt Deacon said.

"No one is immune to domestic violence, and no one is immune to depression.

"This is a fabulous initiative and we need to ask are you okay more often."

According to Snr Sgt Deacon, there are 180 domestic violence reports to police every day, and it costs the Queensland economy up to $3.2billion a year.

"That's staggering," he said.

"The most common thing I hear is, 'I don't know why she doesn't just leave'.

"That is a cultural thing, but unless you've been exposed to domestic violence, it's difficult to understand what someone is going through."

He went on to explain law enforcement's role in domestic violence situations.

"There are a number of agencies that play in domestic violence, and police is only one of them," Snr Sgt Deacon explained.

"Police look at the emergency-type situations, essentially we look at what we can do at an incident.

"It's the same as when we go to a traffic accident, we will basically fix it; we'll tow the cars away, we'll sort it all back to normal.

"It's the same with domestic violence, we'll go to the home, work out what happened and try to get it back to normal."

He said domestic violence was not restricted to those directly affected by it, calling it a "community issue".

"It needs to be understood and accepted within the community that domestic violence isn't accepted in any form ever," he said.