Domestic Violence Awareness Walk

The community is doing it’s part to raise awareness for domestic violence.

October is national domestic violence awareness month and the Domestic Violence Coalition is teaming up with community members for the second annual ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’. The walk started at 5 p.m this evening outside the courthouse in downtown Zanesville. We caught up with chair person for the Domestic Violence Coalition:

“It’s very personal because I’ve also been a victim but also my friends have and I have a lot of family members that have been but I also, because i’m a court advocate deal with many, many victims” explained Dorothy Thomas.

Mayor Jeff Tilton, County Commissioner Jerry Lavy, along with other speakers and even a special guest singer all attended and spoke at the event. A team of 25 ‘celebrity walkers’ even put on shoes of the opposite sex to symbolize that it’s hard knowing what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes and 17 registered teams completed the walk.

“It’s very hard to walk in somebody else’s shoes so this is why we don’t judge people and we don’t say ‘why doesn’t she leave?’ or ‘why don’t they leave?'” Dorothy Thomas later told us.

The event concluded with a candle light vigil and all proceeds benefit Transitions, the domestic violence shelter and the Advocacy Program.