ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event is returning to downtown Orlando Thursday for its 13th year as part of a campaign to raise awareness about domestic violence.<\/p>\n
Organized by the Harbor House of Central Florida, what happens during the event is exactly what its name implies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really about getting everyone engaged and putting on a pair of shoes and walking a mile in someone else\u2019s shoes,”\u00a0Harbor House CEO Michelle Sperzel said. “Because a lot of things happen on a journey of someone who\u2019s experiencing domestic violence.”<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event returns to downtown Orlando for the 13th\u00a0year Thursday
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The event encourages hundreds of participants to literally walk a mile in a woman\u2019s pair of shoes to raise awareness about domestic violence
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Harbor House CEO Michelle Sperzel says events like these let survivors know that there is help available in the community
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Sperzel estimates that more than 6,000 victims of domestic violence seek help annually in Central Florida<\/p>\n
People of all ages are encouraged to come out wearing a pair of \u201cfun shoes,\u201d or heels for the mile-long walk.<\/p>\n
But what most people retain from this event is the sight of men wearing women\u2019s shoes, or heels, which despite being a funny sight, has a far deeper meaning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also a big push to get men engaged in it because when we\u2019re talking about domestic violence,” Sperzel said. “It\u2019s really about gender inequality when it comes to violence, and specifically violence against women.”<\/p>\n
Sperzel said engagement by men will hopefully prompt them to be a part of the solution by holding other men accountable.<\/p>\n
According to Sperzel, Harbor House helps around 1,000 individuals every year in its emergency shelter.<\/p>\n
But that number doesn\u2019t reflect the full picture, she said.<\/p>\n
There are other programs scattered throughout Orange County, which Sperzel said account for an additional 5,000 individuals receiving help.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarbor House, we\u2019re helping 6,000 individuals here just in Central Florida that have experienced domestic violence,” she said. “But we also know that not everybody seeks our help, or reports domestic violence.”<\/p>\n
Sperzel said events like “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” let people know that there is help available in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the reasons why we do it in front of the courthouse is because we have an office on the fifth\u00a0floor of the courthouse, we work a lot with the Clerk of Court and we have our attorney program,”\u00a0Sperzel said. “But also, we finish down at City Hall because it takes all of law enforcement … to really help hold abusers accountable.”<\/p>\n
She expects that there will be close to 200 participants joining this year\u2019s walk, including representatives from various law enforcement agencies like the Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office and\u00a0 Orlando Police Department.<\/p>\n