Freedom Walk makes stop in Wheat City

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/05/2012 (5142 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After its start 27 days ago, the Freedom Walk made its way to Brandon.

Five men, who have been walking since April 22, brought their truck and trailer to city hall yesterday to raise awareness and understanding of victims’ rights.

Mayor Shari Decter Hirst was on hand to greet them, along with members of various community groups who participated in the local walk.

“I think there’s always something more that could be done,” Decter Hirst said about services for victims. “We have to ensure we don’t become complacent in terms of service delivery.”

The 4,500-kilometre fundraising walk from Vancouver to Toronto is an initiative of the Five with DRIVE Foundation in partnership with Canadian Crime Victim Foundation and Victim Services across Canada. While advocating for services is one part of the initiative, the other is hearing victims’ stories.

“We really need to give victims of crime a voice and we need to make sure they get the justice and supports they need,” said Brandon Police Service Const. Kirby Sararas, who helped co-ordinate the local event.

Victims of crime are encouraged to share their stories online, on the Freedom Walk Twitter and Facebook pages.

“After the crime has happened, and after (victims have) been through the court system, sometimes there’s nothing there,” Sararas said. “They need the supports but it takes a lot of money.”

It is that additional funding the group hopes to provide with its 63-day journey. Every day, the men cover 75 to 100 kilometres in the hopes of achieving a $500,000 fundraising goal.

So far, they’ve raised $100,000 for the Canadian Crime Victims Scholarship Fund to support survivors of violent crime and siblings of homicide victims.

“We’re not all equal in our capabilities to give, but we are all equal in our responsibility,” said Dan Rossi, Five with DRIVE co-founder and a constable with the Calgary Police Service.

Speaking to the crowd prior to the walk, Rossi discussed the reasons the Five with DRIVE Foundation wanted to give a voice to victims.

“Some of us are police officers, but at the end of the day we’re all men … who want to do our community more justice, more than just wearing a uniform,” Rossi said.

Donations have come in online and also from schools where Rossi and his team present their message of anti-bullying and anti-violence. Before yesterday’s walk, the group spoke with students at Christian Heritage School and received a reception Rossi called “one of the best yet.”

“We walk in, and they have this huge banner and they’re clapping for us outside their school,” Rossi said, adding the banner message “God loves you” meant a lot to the men, who have been running on less than several hours of sleep a night.

“We really appreciate the reception in Brandon,” he said.

People can donate and track the progress of the Freedom Walk online at freedomwalk.ca.

The five men will get off their feet on June 23 when the walk ends in Markham, Ont.

» dponticelli@brandonsun.com