Dozens of community members and organizations came together on Thursday evening to raise money and awareness for those impacted by intimate partner violence.
The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation Night Light Walk took place in Windsor and nine other communities across Canada with an aim of shining the light on awareness and critical funds needed for women and families affected by IPV.
Royal LePage Real Estate presented a $55,000 cheque to the Windsor Hiatus House during the event - which will go towards their transitional housing project.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2022 alone, there were over 117,000 reports of IPV, with women and girls experiencing rates more than three times higher than others.
Those in attendance at the event took part in the three-kilometre-long walk which started at Walkerville Collegiate Institute on Richmond Street.
Maggie Durocher, Coordinator of Fundraising Development for Hiatus House, says all funds raised locally will stay local.
"The funds will go to our transitional housing project which will be located directly across the street from us. It provides second-stage housing for women who have been in the shelter, and have had to move on, it includes wraparound services, and so much more to help them rebuild their lives, and their children's lives."
Frank Binder, Broker of Record for Royal LePage Real Estate, says this is an event that hits close to home.
"I had a sister that had experienced some of this, so I go back to that. And when the opportunity came to do this, that's the event I remembered all too well. And basically, that turned out well actually, it's not bad, but the bottom line is that when it hits close to home like that you get the sense that you need to participate."
Sarah Mitchell, Sales Representative with Royal LePage Real Estate, says it's amazing that the community continues to stand up to support those affected.
"And the main point of this is that we're bringing attention to the vulnerable women and children that live in our community and that need help out of domestic violence situations, and you know, this is what we're here for."
Lisa Gretzky, MPP for Windsor West, says this is why she brought Bill 173 to the provincial government to declare IPV an epidemic.
"I think that it's really important that we get community together like this. This is one of the ways that we end the violence is by getting community together to stand up and say that it's not acceptable."
This is the second year the event has been held, but the first year it's been held in Windsor.
Since its founding in 1998, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has raised more than $46-million to-date and currently supports 200 local women's shelters and national partners.
Locally, this issue has reached crisis levels. 95 municipalities across the country have declared IPV epidemics in their communities, including Windsor, Tecumseh, Essex, Lakeshore, Kingsville, and Amherstburg.