As event organisers and supporters tied bows, people stopped and talked with them.

"It was amazing the conversations started with people walking past and wanting to now what we were doing, " Tradies in Sight founder Bruno Efoti said.

"We're encouraging people to have conversations and connections so it was a great start."

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Dubbo Cares Day is part of a new mental health awareness and suicide-prevention campaign led by Tradies in Sight, the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program (RAMHP) and Lifeline Central West.

It responds to an "alarming increase" in suicides in Dubbo and district, as reported by Mr Efoti in September.

Mr Efoti, RAMHP's Camilla Herbig and Lifeline Central West's Dubbo centre manager Cate Whiteley were at the Church Street rotunda on Wednesday to help greet "hundreds" of people who were offered free food and coffee, goody bags and pamphlets containing information on support services in the city.

The hum of conversation at the rotunda could be heard by pedestrians approaching it.

They could also smell the barbecue being operated by Royal Flying Doctor Service staff who deliver its Mental Health & AoD (Alcohol and other Drugs) service in the region.

Operations manager David Honeysett expected 600 rolls filled with either bacon and eggs, sausages or rissoles to be distributed.

He also revealed "fairly high demand" for the service in Western NSW communities.

"..our Dubbo clinic is also quite busy so demand at the moment is quite high," Mr Honeysett said.

Other organisations which contributed to the event included Marathon Health, Uniting, BaptistCare, the Western NSW Local Health District, the Western NSW Primary Health Network and headspace Dubbo.

About 15 Dubbo businesses also marked the occasion by decorating their properties with yellow, a symbol of hope.

"There is so much value in a day like today because its locally driven and we're bringing local businesses and local people together to not just talk about mental health but to talk about the connections we can have every day," Ms Herbig said.

"Having connections and friendships is what we can then draw from when we do have bad times and need to reach out and talk to someone.

"While it's fabulous to ask "Are your okay?' or "How are you going?', it's the connections that lead to those conversations that lead to recognising someone's not going too well."

Mr Efoti hopes to attract families to Dubbo Cares Day 2021 by holding it on a Saturday at Dubbo Showground.