COMMUNITY
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022
Hermiston Herald, File
A tent shelters volunteers from the rain at the seventh annual
In Her Shoes experiential walk to raise awareness of domestic
violence in Hermiston on April 24, 2021. The 2022 event is
Saturday, April 30.
In Her Shoes
event April 30 to
promote domestic
violence awareness
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
An upcoming activity
will bring attention to the
problem of domestic vio-
lence and sexual assault.
Domestic Violence Ser-
vices, Inc., is organiz-
ing the Eighth Annual
DVS Walk “In Her Shoes”
awareness event 9 a.m.,
Saturday, April 30.
It will be at Good Shep-
herd Health Care Sys-
tem, 610 N.W. 11th St.,
Hermiston.
There has never been a
bad time to talk about the
subjects addressed at this
event, according to Rob-
bin Ferguison, interim
executive director and fis-
cal manager at DVS. She
added that there are things
happening, though, that
make domestic violence
and sexual assault espe-
cially relevant.
“Economics has an
effect on (the rate of
cases),” she said. “The
pandemic has had an
effect on it, because there
were more people at home
and people who can’t get
away from the situation.”
At the event, peo-
ple will “take a journey
through a real victim’s
story and make decisions
from the limited choices
and resources they have,”
Ferguison said. Attendees
have the choice of receiv-
ing the stories on their
phones or reading them in
a printed book.
After hearing stories of
domestic abuse, and say-
ing what they would do
in the same situations,
attendees will hear the
actual results.
According
to
Fer-
guison, the message of the
event is that abuse hap-
pens, regardless of a vic-
tim’s actions.
“You may make the
choice that you think is
the best, but you still can
be in a violent situation,”
she said. “You can talk to
your clergy, end up going
back and talk to your
friends. It’s real life. It’s
very powerful.”
She added, domestic
abuse and sexual assault
happen to all races, ethnic
groups and genders, which
is another lesson she hopes
the event will empart.
Ferguison said this is an
event for people regard-
less of gender. Everyone
will get something out of
this, she said.
“Last year was stormy
and rainy,” Ferguison
said. That being the case,
she said, attendance was
down. This Saturday’s
forecast, too, includes
scattered showers. Still,
she is hoping for a large
turnout.
A DVS press release
states that participants
may register for free at the
event. Also, bottled water,
disinfecting wipes, san-
itizer, disposable masks
and gloves will be avail-
able. The first 20 regis-
tered participants will
receive a DVS goodie bag.
Also, there will be DVS
merchandise for sale and
raffle items.
Proceeds from the
event, received from mer-
chandise sales and the raf-
fle, will go towards help-
ing victims at emergency
shelters in Pendleton and
Hermiston, as well as the
DVS Advocacy Centers
in Pendleton, Hermiston,
Milton-Freewater, Board-
man and Ione.
For more information,
visit dvs-or.org.
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