Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Brighton native and Ms. Michigan Hannah Palmer will join this month's fifth annual "Ruck to Live," to raise awareness of both veteran and civilian suicide prevention.

"I am actually a five-time suicide attempt survivor, and as an advocate for suicide prevention, I'm really excited to really get people out and about to have conversations about how we're really doing," she told WHMI's Morning Drive.

"As a survivor, it was something that was really hard to talk about for a very long time," Palmer added. "Having lost my friend to suicide, it became really, really important for me to start sharing my story, and once I started to share my story, I saw how many other people were struggling."

Palmer's experience led to her to start the non-profit Sunflower Project, which provides social, emotional learning tools and resources for students, to help them identify and process their emotions.

Veterans Connected puts on the annual event, which starts at 8 am Saturday, September 27, at the Brighton Veterans Memorial. Check-in is 7 am.

"Right now the suicide rate for veterans is 44 a day, or one every 32 minutes," said Chairman Bryan Bradford. "We've opened up this event the last few years to civilians, because mental health has become such a huge issue."

The annual ruck and walk is eight miles, or there's the "Patriotic 1 Mile" around Brighton's Mill Pond. You must be 13-years or older, accompanied by an adult. Service dogs are welcome.

Registration for the September 27 event is $22 per person at the link below.