Since 2011, President Unifor Jerry Dias and his son Jordan have been participating in the Hope in High Heels Walk benefitting Halton Women’s Place shelters.  Every year, men walk in high heels in support of ending violence against women, and to show that they are committed to being part of the solution.

 Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, while most of us have been isolated in our homes, many women and children in our communities have faced increased violence and abuse with no access to safe space. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we come together to help end violence against women, and that we make every effort to support safe spaces in our communities.

 This year, Team Unifor will be hosting an exclusive Hope in High Heels Walk in Toronto on Saturday, September 25 at Nathan Phillips Square. Together, we’ll walk around the infamous Nathan Phillips Square fountain, located at 100 Queen Street West, at 1:00 pm ET. Participants should plan to arrive at 12:00 pm ET to try on their shoes, which are generously provided by Halton Women’s Place for the event. Afterwards, and current public health guidelines permitting, all participants and well-wishers are invited to a cruise around the Toronto harbour. In the spirit of fundraising as much as possible for this important cause, an admission fee of $20 will be charged, with all proceeds benefitting Halton Women’s Place.

 We encourage you to join Team Unifor, which consists of National Staff, Local Executives, and Unifor Members. If you would like to join, or if you have any questions, please contact Kate Lonergan by emailing kate.lonergan@unifor.org. If you can’t join us in person, please consider joining a virtual walk. Please visit the Hope in High Heels from Home website for more information.

 Halton Women’s Place is the only women’s shelter in the Halton Region, providing shelter and crisis services for physically, emotionally, financially and sexually abused women and their dependent children. In 2020-2021, they provided safe shelter to 70 women and 66 children through their residential program. In addition, they provided Transitional Support services to 316 clients, Court Support to 112 clients, and their Bridging Families program supported 94 families in the Halton community.  Staff responded to 2088 crisis calls and 124 requests through their new HWP Chat Line service.

 Thanks to everyone’s generous support, since the walks began, Team Unifor has raised approximately $845,000 for the shelters. My son Jordan and I, along with Team Unifor, raised approximately $148,000 last year. We have the ambitious goal of raising $155,000 this year, in order to surpass $1 Million in lifetime fundraising.

Please consider sponsoring Team Unifor. Your support will greatly benefit this important initiative. Please make cheques payable to Halton Women’s Place and mail them to Kate Lonergan at 115 Gordon Baker Road, Toronto, ON, M2H 0A8, or donate online today.