BONNYVILLE – “It’s hard to put into words how much of a struggle the people that go to the Dr. Margaret Crisis Centre (DMSCC) are dealing and living with.”
When Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) deputy fire chief Dan Heney was asked to participate in the fourth annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes fundraiser, he simply couldn’t say no.
“They need our help,” he expressed. “As first responders, that’s ultimately what we’re here to do.”
During the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs game on Saturday, Feb. 1, Heney was among the local men who donned the iconic red high heels and walked through the crowd to collect pledges.
This year’s Walk a Mile raised over $4,600, including $1,780 in pledges collected during the Pontiacs game. The DMSCC donated $890 to the team to thank them for their support of the event.
Cindy Yang, resource development coordinator for DMSCC, was blown away by the response from the community.
“We were a little bit worried, because we had a shorter timeline to work with, but our community showed up and supported us. They’ve been incredibly generous, so we’re really fortunate and happy that the Bonnyville Pontiacs agreed to host with us again.”
The competition to see who would claim the Walk a Mile trophy was fierce, but Heney managed to keep the BRFA’s streak alive by raising $1,245. The award will be spending another year with the local fire department after fire chief Jay Melvin was victorious in 2019.
“I needed to defend on behalf of firefighters everywhere,” Heney exclaimed. “I had no choice but to win, because I had to live up to the bar set by my boss last year. I wasn’t sure if I should come into work on Monday if I didn’t win.”
Along with members from the BRFA, Town and MD of Bonnyville councillors and Bonnyville RCMP were also strutting their stuff as participants.
“It’s really about showing leadership to the rest of the community,” explained Susan White, executive director for the DMSCC. “A lot of the young people at the hockey game look up to the police, politicians in town, and firefighters. It just really shows that they stand behind supporting women’s rights and equality.”
The 12 men strapping on high heels was a slight increase from last year when nine stepped up for the cause.
“We’re increasing a little bit, which is super awesome,” expressed Yang. “It means our event is getting out there and more people are willing to participate, which we really love. We also appreciate that a lot of these community members, like the RCM, have other competing priorities… For them to take the time out to be able to give us a little bit of their time to make a statement, we appreciate it so much.”
White said the Cold Lake women’s shelter wants to continue hosting Walk a Mile in Bonnyville with the Pontiacs, and raising awareness about their services in town.
Although they weren’t wearing the iconic heels, the home team showed their solidarity by sporting red skate laces during their game against the Drumheller Dragons. Head coach Rick Swan stressed the importance of showing support for the cause.
“I was a policeman for 26 years, and I saw the negative effects in terms of what happens. The number of cases that are opened up by the DMSCC is alarming, which means our society isn’t quite getting it. There shouldn’t be an increase in files, there should be a decrease. It’s a great scenario for men to be able to wear high heels to really walk a mile in a woman’s shoes, and really create a little bit of empathy that it doesn’t matter who you are, violence is unacceptable.”
