Walk of Hope

Shannon LeClair

Times Reporter

 

Members of the Wheatland Crisis Society organized their annual Moonlight Walk of Hope on Nov. 24 at Kinsmen Park. The Walk of Hope has been taking place for at least 10 years now and always lands on a Wednesday near the end of November. 

“We ask the community to join the Crisis Society in a walk around the lake to show their support for a non-violent community,” said Paul Thomas with the Public Education Department for the Crisis Society. 

People brought flashlights to light up the night. At the end of the walk they went to the United Church for hot chocolate and snacks, and the Executive Director Karen Pease spoke about the walk, and the shelter and what exactly the Crisis Society does. Only about 20 people came out for the walk according to Thomas. 

“There’s some years where we’ve had quite a bit and other years where not as much, but again a lot of it depends on the weather, and that’s one of the risks you run when you have it in November,” said Thomas.

He said that won’t deter the Crisis Society, and that they will continue to do the walk at the end of the month. While he doesn’t fully know why they picked the end of November for the walk, he figures it is because staff is busy organizing and preparing for the other events hosted throughout the month. 

November is Family Violence Prevention Month and is a month filled with different events for the Crisis Society. At the beginning of the month the Crisis Society held a red rose campaign, delivering a red rose to businesses in memory of those who have died because of family violence. 

On Nov. 6 the annual Harvest Dinner and Auction was held to help raise funds for the Wheatland Shelter and the Crisis Society. It was a sold out event, bringing in over 250 guests. The Walk of Hope was the last awareness event for the month of November.