NEOSS' 'Walk a Mile in Her Shoes' saw 118 walkers participate on Tisdale's 100 St (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Walk a Mile

Over $17,000 raised during ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ event

May 30, 2019 | 10:24 AM

Hockey players, football players, policemen, firemen, and businessmen donned bright red heels Tuesday afternoon to raise awareness and support for victims of domestic, gender and sexualized violence in northeast communities.

The North East Outreach and Support Services’ (NEOSS) seventh annual ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ event in Tisdale on May 28 saw 118 walkers strap (or in some cases, tape) on four-inch red high heels and walk a mile along 100 Street and back to Town Square.

Melfort Fire Chief Jason Everitt wore his full firefighting gear, athletes wore their uniforms, and some businessmen wore suit and ties as they walked the mile in their red high heels. Louise Schweitzer, executive director of NEOSS, told northeastNOW the wide variety of people walking the mile shows the awareness of preventing domestic violence is out there.

Melfort Fire Chief Jason Everitt wore full firefighting gear to match his red high heels (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

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“People are really realizing that domestic and sexualized violence have no socioeconomic, ethnic, or religious boundaries,” Schweitzer said. “It happens to everyone. By having people come out in different careers by police coming out in uniform, an accountant out in a suit, and having a fire chief out in full gear shows that they recognize it and they’re aware of it. It also shows to the victims that that’s a person and a field that they can go to for safety and help.

“The greatest thing again is the awareness it creates, and we do it in such a fun way. The laughter, watching people as they’re walking, the empowerment that it gives to each other. You can’t put a price tag on it.”

Volunteers raised over $17,000 with more than $2,000 of it coming from the R.M. of Tisdale’s group, also known as ’10 Miles of Bad Road’.

Scot Perry, a member of the group, said he was more worried about the dress he had to wear during the mile than the high heels themselves.

“When I was asked to walk, I went to work at SGI and asked them if they’d donate,” Perry said. “They challenged me that if they’d raise some money, I’d wear a dress. I told them if they raised $500, I’d wear a dress. If they raised $1,000, I’d wear make-up.

“They raised $1,300. I didn’t have a choice,” he said.

Perry was influenced to walk the mile by his friend Violet Allan, a first-time volunteer for the event. She said it was a great experience to be a part of and the walkers arrived in good spirits.

“It was like a party,” Allan said. “We had a great time and I think the walkers had a great time. It’s for a good cause and it raises awareness; it’s like a protest against domestic violence. I am so proud of our town, people, and everybody that came out to support.”

Perry put walking a mile in high heels a “seven out of 10” on his pain scale, but said it changed his perspective of what women go through.

The same kind of sentiments were shared by Const. Zacharie Loiselle of the Tisdale RCMP Detachment, who said his calves were starting lock up near the end as their team walked the mile.

“The ladies that were putting the tape on the shoes just said, ‘make sure to get your calf and hamstring stretches in.’ I was like ‘Really? For a mile?’ But then I definitely felt it after,” Loiselle said with a laugh.

The halfway point of ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ was the unofficial start of the grinding process of walking a mile in high heels. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

It was the first time Tisdale hosted the event. Loiselle said one of their officers was approached to walk the mile, as the Tisdale RCMP Detachment has a victim services office that works closely with NEOSS. They decided to sign up a team as they work closely with victims of domestic violence.

“We deal with everybody that comes in, so we’re pretty close to all those situations,” he said. “It’s close to the heart for most of us. It’s a good perspective to walk in other someone else’s shoes, and doing it physically obviously opens your mind more than just donating money.”

Const. Zachaire Loiselle of the Tisdale RCMP Detachment (centre) kept a sense of humour during his mile-long walk in high heels. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

Looking ahead to where ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ evolves after 2019, Schweitzer said it tackles the stigma of domestic violence.

“That’s truly the hope with all of this,” she said. “That people feel safe coming forward if they’re in a domestic violent situation. There are all kinds of people that will help them, all they need to do is reach out. We’ll help them stay safe, and the people that are the offenders, they’ll realize that it’s not okay to do what they’re doing, and everyone can change.

“Sometimes we don’t realize the impact that we have, but events like this change lives, and by being a part of it, you have been a part of changing someone’s life somewhere for the better.”

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow