It’s time to put on the red shoes and dance for a great reason. St. Albert Stop Abuse in Families has just announced its fourth annual Red Shoe Gala, the one night of the year when the men wear the high heels as a show of solidarity and compassion with all women.
SAIF, as the society is known, works to provide services to people from all walks of life who are experiencing abuse in their personal lives. It’s no secret that most of those clients are women.
Executive director Doreen Slessor said that, while it might seem humourous for men to wear high heels, the real purpose is to get all men to start thinking about what it is like to metaphorically walk a mile in women’s shoes. Many men, Slessor admits, need to start coming to terms with the abuse that they inflict on their loved ones’ lives.
“It’s a fun way to bring awareness to a serious issue, and to let men partner with women in ending domestic violence and family violence.”
This is usually the time of year when tensions often rise in domestic situations because of stress from holiday and family events from the previous month’s activities.
“December was very busy,” she elaborated. “A lot of crisis, a lot of unusual circumstances and a lot of high risk situations … more than we expected, actually.”
She added that there is then a lot of financial pressure in the first month or two of each year as the holiday bills come in as well.
She said that last year’s event was “fantastic” to the point that they oversold the banquet facility, leading to that rare moment when a charity fundraiser has to turn away attendees, instead of beg them to come.
“We had more people than space could accommodate.”
Part of that was because public awareness is growing around the issues of abuse and violence in society. A guest speaker also helped draw in the crowd. Lynne Rosychuk talked about how her daughter, Jessica Martel, tried to escape her abusive common-law husband but was murdered in the attempt.
There are only 100 tickets printed this year. Slessor hopes that people who weren’t lucky enough to get through the doors in 2011 will be the first at the ticket counter to buy their way in to the 2012 affair. She hopes that the friends she gained last year don’t fall by the wayside just because there is a limit on attendance. She added that she still needs help developing donation items to be auctioned off by Mayor Crouse during the event.
Preview
Red Shoe Gala 2012<br />Friday, March 16 at 6 p.m.<br />Vintage Banquet Room at Apex Casino<br />24 Boudreau Road<br />Event to feature food, dancing and live auction with guest auctioneer Mayor Nolan Crouse<br />Dress is semi-formal, and red shoes are optional. SAIF can help provide footwear to men who don't own red shoes but still wish to participate.<br />Tickets are $65 each and only 100 will be sold. They can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.ca or you can RSVP to 780-460-2195 or [email protected].
