(rdnewsNOW file photos)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

fostering a difficult discussion

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes goes virtual this month

May 11, 2020 | 3:00 PM

Organizers hope hundreds or more eager participants won’t let a pandemic stop them from signing up for this year’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.

Although it will be done virtually, there’s still opportunity for the men of central Alberta to don some red (or other coloured) high heels.

‘Walk a Mile’ takes place annually — for nine years now — to not just raise money for The Outreach Centre, but awareness of the work they do and how the community can combat sexualized violence.

“Domestic violence is a very important issue and conversation to have, and we need to keep in mind that we’re talking about somebody’s mother, daughter, aunt, or even brother or uncle,” says Barb Barber, executive director at The Outreach Centre.

“It’s been proven just how a natural disaster or other crises does increase domestic violence, so we need to pay a little bit more attention to this than we ever have before. No one wants to live in a community with violence, so the only way we’re going to be able to make a difference in the lives of a lot of people is by talking about it and shedding some light on it.”

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This year, instead of participants gathering at the centre and walking a mile together, registrants (women are encouraged too) will be asked to walk 1,000 steps or one mile on their own between May 15 and 21, post the video on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn), and then challenge five friends by tagging them.

Whether you do that in high heels or regular shoes is at your discretion, but organizers are encouraging participants to have fun with it.

“One way to think about doing the 1,000 steps is that while it’s a very small snapshot in your day, those 1,000 steps can make such a difference to somebody that needs to leave an abusive situation or someone who really wants to make a difference in their life and their kids’. To someone on the other side, those steps are huge,” Barber adds.

“We have a saying on the wall at Outreach which says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want go far, go together.’ We want to go far in our community with changing domestic violence and so we need to do that together.”

Each walker is encouraged to try and raise $500. Sign-up is here.