11/17/2020
Thank you for your interest in the SecondChance5km Run. This new race is being spearheaded out of a desire to give back to a community that has saved and protected so many women and children, myself included, from a violent relationship. The day of the event will be held on the 15 year anniversary that I left my relationship, when the police found me barely alive on the living room floor. I feel that, after so long, I need to make more of this second chance on life.
Every 2.5 days, a woman or girl is killed in Canada. Domestic violence accounts for 26% of all violent crimes reported to police in Canada (of which 80% are women), yet fewer than 1 in 5 cases are being reported. In the early stages of the pandemic, Statistics Canada saw a surge in reported cases, by 12%, and surely this number is higher now.
The need to stress 'reported' is crucial. These numbers are only giving a slight glimpse into what's truly happening behind closed doors. Many victims are ashamed, afraid to talk, to report, and sometimes blame themselves. We're told if we leave, they will find us, hurt our children, kill our families... I know, when everything was said and done, with my face and neck swollen and, despite liver and kidney damage, I did everything to protect HIM. It can almost become a mindset, that it was all my fault, a mindset that I carry forward into my relationships to this day.
Interval House is doing important work in protecting women here, locally, in Hamilton, offering emergency shelter, crisis support, counselling, transitional services amongst various other programs. All proceeds from the SecondChance5km will go to Interval House, to help women struggling to leave their situations, so they can also get the opportunity for a second chance.
For information about Interval House, please check out their website:
Interval House Hamilton - Helping people
