Photo courtesy of Dylan Slagle

The clomping and clicking could be heard up and down Main Street on a sunny Saturday morning as Westminster donned its red heels for the annual Walk a Mile in her Shoes.

Around 200 walkers joined the outing to raise funds and awareness for Rape Crisis Intervention Service in Westminster.

Before they set out from Dutterer Family Park, Madi Serio spoke to the crowd. Serio is the survivor of a kidnapping and rape that occurred on Pennsylvania Avenue in May 2016, who has chosen to speak about the ordeal to help others who have experienced similar assault.

She thanked Saturday’s participants for supporting RCIS, which she said supported her after the incident.

Click here to read the entire article in the Carroll County Times.

The numbers are grim. One in 6 women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, and in Maryland, 1 in 8 women will be raped in their lifetime.

Carroll’s Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, April 5, declared April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. To help raise awareness about this problem, men will literally walk a mile in women’s shoes on Saturday, April 14, for the 10th annual Rape Crisis Intervention Service of Carroll County’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. The fancy footwork begins at 11 a.m. at Westminster’s Dutterer Park and proceeds through downtown Westminster to Westminster City Park.

“I encourage all men to come out on behalf of the women in their lives,” said Carroll County State’s Attorney Brian DeLeonardo, who plans to participate in the walk again this year. “It’s a long walk. I don’t how women do it on a regular basis. Once a year is painful enough for me.”

Click here to read the entire article as featured in the Carroll County Times, April 9, 2018.