The public is invited to “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes” on Saturday, Oct. 25, as California State University, Northridge hosts a march to raise awareness and funds to help victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Organized by Strength United, a chartered center of CSUN’s Michael D. Eisner College of Education, the event will start at 10 a.m. and continue until early afternoon, with the march starting at 11.

Hundreds of community members and students will gather and walk a mile through campus and local city streets, expressing solidarity with victims of violence and raising funds to support Strength United’s programs to serve victims of abuse. Many men taking part in the march will wear women’s high heels, so they can literally walk a mile in her shoes through Northridge’s streets.

“Sexual assault and domestic violence are serious issues,” said Charles Hanson, a professor in CSUN’s Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, as well as a founder and executive administrator of Strength United. “‘Walk a Mile in Their Shoes’ is an opportunity for our entire community to break the silence that all too often surrounds this issue and come together to stop the violence. Only by uniting to bring light to this issue and provide support for victims will we be able to stop the cycle of violence and abuse.”

“Breaking Bad” actress Carmen Serano, an assault survivor and former Strength United client, will speak at the event.

Strength United provides a unique approach to ending abuse and violence through the collaboration of mental health professionals, educators, researchers, students and volunteers. Accessible any time through a 24-hour hotline, Strength United offers not only emergency services, but also long-term safety planning, counseling, advocacy, abuse prevention and education programs, all provided free of charge to clients. The agency’s three locations serve people of all ages who have witnessed or experienced child maltreatment, domestic abuse, sexual assault, commercial sexual exploitation or violent crime. Staff and volunteers serve more than 14,000 people each year.

The march will be followed by a community resource and activity expo for participants, volunteers and their families beginning at noon.
For more information please visit the event’s website at http://walkamile.strengthunited.org.