NEWS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Bryce Dole/Hermiston Herald
Domestic Violence Services held its seventh annual “In Her
Shoes” experiential walk to raise awareness of domestic
violence in Hermiston on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Domestic Violence
Services holds ‘In
Her Shoes’ walk to
raise awareness
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
She was a 32-year-old
accountant with a daugh-
ter. She was married, though
he was not the father of her
child. Slowly over time,
their relationship soured.
It began with emotional
abuse and escalated to phys-
ical abuse. Friends and fam-
ily encouraged her to give
him another chance. They
said he was sorry. The deci-
sion loomed — stay or leave.
She chose the latter.
She reported the abuse
to the police. In court, she
lost custody of her daugh-
ter because she worked full
time. Then, she went to Child
Protective Services. They
didn’t fi nd credible danger
to the child and declined to
help. She just wanted to be
with her daughter. So, she
took him back.
This was one of many
scenarios that participants
engaged with at the sev-
enth annual “In Her Shoes”
experiential walk outside
of Good Shepherd Medical
Center in Hermiston on a
blustery Saturday, April 24.
The event, organized by
Domestic Violence Services,
a nonprofi t that has served
Umatilla and Morrow coun-
ties for more than 40 years,
was intended to raise aware-
ness about domestic vio-
lence and sexual abuse by
having participants walk
step-by-step through the
obstacles victims commonly
face when they seek help.
“It’s discouraging know-
ing that’s what people have
to go through,” said Jessica
Reker, the director of com-
munity health and outreach
at the hospital, who engaged
with the accountant’s story.
“That someone might not
believe them or that some-
one might say, ‘Oh, but you
know, he supports you.’ It’s
just sad that they have to
weigh the positives and neg-
atives. That should be some-
thing that’s not OK.”
The accountant’s story is
not unlike the many stories
she hears through her job at
the hospital, Reker said.
“These are choices faced
by real people in really hor-
rible situations,” said Kath-
ryn Chaney, the executive
director of Domestic Vio-
lence Services. “The out-
come isn’t always great.
That’s why programs like
ours exist — to help people
from those circumstances.”
For both participants and
event organizers, one word
became central to each con-
versation — empathy.
“So often when you have
a good friend or family mem-
ber that keeps going back to
an abusive relationship, you
get frustrated or angry or
you just don’t get it,” said
Chaney, who has worked in
services regarding domestic
violence and sexual assault
for nearly 30 years in mul-
tiple states. “That’s natural.
But we developed this pro-
gram to help people under-
stand what these kind of cir-
cumstances are and what
the choices are. This kind of
activity gives people insight
to those diffi cult choices.”
Jeanne Bedolla, a proj-
ect coordinator with Domes-
tic Violence Services, said
the event shows the vulner-
able situations victims expe-
rience after suff ering from
abuse. She said she saw this
LEARN MORE
Proceeds from the
seventh annual “In Her
Shoes” experiential
walk outside of Good
Shepherd Medical
Center went to Domes-
tic Violence Services’
shelters in Pendleton
and Hermiston, as well
as its advocacy centers in
Boardman, Heppner and
Milton-Freewater.
The nonprofi t organi-
zation also off ers safety
planning, peer groups,
parenting classes and
other support services
and operates a 24-hour
crisis line (800-833-1161).
For more information,
call 541-276-3322, 541-
567-0424 or visit www.
domesticviolenceser-
vices-or.org.
fi rst-hand when she helped
her sister move back home
to Oregon from Denver,
Colorado, when her mar-
riage turned abusive.
“They’re
basically
groomed at that point to
think they’re not worthy or
that they can’t do better,”
she said. “This (event) kind
of shows people what lim-
ited resources people have.
You can say, ‘Just go here
or go here.’ But those peo-
ple either don’t know about
it, or they don’t have the
family or friends for sup-
port depending on what their
situation is. Sometimes it
gets them into the world of
drugs, and that’s a whole
other story. It’s just a vicious
cycle, unfortunately.”
Bedolla said the nonprofi t
is now looking to set up pro-
grams in middle and high
schools to raise awareness
about the various forms of
abuse, including dating and
cyber abuse.
Reker said events like
“In Her Shoes’’ are import-
ant ways to show the barri-
ers victims face to get help.
“There’s just not aware-
ness of what sorts of services
are available, what people
have to go through to be
able to get help, all the barri-
ers there are — police, court,
Child Protective Services,”
she said. “If you don’t have
an advocate in that process,
it’s almost impossible. So
these are just really import-
ant awareness events.”
Caitlin Cozad, the mar-
keting and communications
director at the hospital who
attended the event, agreed
with Reker, adding the event
illustrates how common vari-
ous forms of abuse are.
“A lot of times, people
see physical abuse because
they can actually see it,”
she said. “But there’s emo-
tional abuse, there’s ver-
bal abuse, which are intan-
gible. And there needs to be
more resources out there for
families who are victims of
domestic violence — physi-
cal, verbal, emotional.”
Reker said she believes
that engaging with the sce-
narios in the event can
decrease stigmas surround-
ing victims.
“It’s not as black and
white as, ‘This person’s
beating you, so leave the
relationship,’” she said.
“There’s so many factors.
It’s not that simple. And
unfortunately, in our area,
there’s not that many places
that people can go.”
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021