Close to 50 men donned bright red high heels and walked a few blocks in support of the Wellspring Family Resource and Crisis Centre

 

Wearing heels is hard enough for many women, let alone men. The adage that “beauty is pain” can easily be attributed to heels and the idea of taking them off after a long day at work is often equated to being one of the best feelings in the world. Kidding aside, the truth stands that heels are not easy to walk in especially if you aren’t used to them.

On Tuesday, June 5 a large crowd of local men including uniformed police officers and firefighters, councillors, bank managers, and tons of other hard-working folks spent their lunch hour doing something they likely don’t do on a regular basis: walking in heels. They started at Wellspring’s Twice is Nice store at Midtown Mall and carefully made their way across the street heading towards CIBC. From there they crossed over to the other side of the street and made their way back to the store to enjoy a barbecue.

Though the walk was short, the point it made was long lasting. That point being that support for each other is imperative especially when it comes to dealing with abuse. If victims know the community support is strong they might be more likely to walk away from a bad situation. Holding a big public show of support such as the Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event helps build that foundation and reaches those that need to know it most. Funds raised during the lively event go towards supporting the Wellspring Family Resource and Crisis Centre and executive director Becky Wells said she is beyond grateful to have close to 50 men take part.

“It shows that the community supports women and men who are experiencing any sort of crisis involving family violence or sexual violence and seeing that is fantastic. It makes the community talk about something that’s really difficult to talk about,” explained Wells. This is the fourth year for the event and she is hoping to see the numbers of walkers continue to grow.

On top of the big group walking, there were also more than double watching the event take place and cheering from the sidelines. “I can’t wait for next year because we are going to bring it back again,” said Wells with a big smile. Some of the men even went all out and dressed up in various costumes. Councillor Ray Hilts was dressed up as an Edmonton Oiler and several others were wearing ladies attire. “A bunch of the guys came into our Twice is Nice store and got some nice dresses to use for the day. It was great to see them out there having fun,” she said with a laugh.

“It was painful, very painful. I don’t know why anyone would want to wear these on purpose,” laughed councillor Hilts. “But it’s a great cause and a great event to raise awareness and money.” He even said he vows to be back next year to walk again.

Constable Johnson said walking in heels was one of the harder things he has done on the job so far. “It’s also definitely one of the most interesting things I’ve done,” he said with a laugh. As a constable, Johnson is on the front lines and deals with violence more regularly than most. “It’s nice knowing that there are a lot of people out there standing against violence and it shows that the community will stand together. It’s really good to see.” He was joined in the walk by his partner, Constable Harriman.

Woodlands Mayor Jim Rennie also made the stylish trek around the block and said that due to a personal experience 16 years ago events that support causes such as Wellspring are very close to his heart. After having put together a crib for his infant daughter, he said he was invited for a tour of the shelter. “I go downstairs at the Wellspring facility and I saw the identical crib and it really broke me up. I just never thought about kids and how kids are influenced by this. From a community point of view, I think we really must remember that even if you’re naive like I was, in that it doesn’t affect your own house, it does affect our friends, co-workers, and our children’s friends. We need to stick together.”

Mayor Rennie concluded by saying the numbers are on the good side. “While there may be a small percentage of men who are abusers, there’s a huge percentage of men who are against it, won’t put up with it, and will stand up for their community. For those people who are affected or maybe feel there’s no-one there to support them, trust that there are a ton of people who will support you. You are not alone.”