I really need to get around to writing that piece on how this stay at home order feels eerily familiar, but this, clearly, is not that. Still, the stay at home order has shifted things. Primarily, all of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) was spent in social distance, at home, and, for some, in a state of isolation. That feels not great. Initially, the moving of the Walk for Change to a virtual platform also felt not great.
After beta testing the Virtual Walk for Change, hosted by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) I can confirm that I feel better about the move. I shared here before about my team, Change for Chantelle, and why we Walk for Change, and how BARCC has impacted my healing journey as a survivor. Feel free to reread that post if necessary. But, I’ll just recap that Change for Chantelle was formed in 2017, and has walked every Walk for Change since. It’s a place for my support system to come together. We are survivors and supporters and we have this safe space to come together and to celebrate dedication to healing and to change. We want an end to sexual violence, we want a firmer education in prevention, we want to support ALL survivors. So, we come together, build community, and walk. Finding out about the move to virtual felt very much like a shortchanging of that coming together initially. Luckily, the folks at BARCC were just as concerned about delivering all the facets of the Walk to us. They got to work, and they are about to deliver.
As of right now, the virtual platform has allowed BARCC to schedule events every day leading to the “Walk” on April 26th including a panel by volunteers one day, a panel by survivors another. Friday will even be a BARCC trivia night. For Walk day, which I’m still calling it, whatever, each team will have a sort of zoom room open to them to meet before festivities kick off at 10 am. This means Change for Chantelle will still be meeting, chatting, and supporting. We will also be taking our annual team photo in this format, which BARCC made sure to include their traditional background for. We will also be able to attend the webinars where the speakers will be addressing us just as they do each year from the stage! There are forums to post supportive messages, just like the support all survivors board where we usually write them in person, and one to post our pet photos since our pups who #Bark4BARCC won’t be walking either. The clothesline project is included in video form, with the warning as always for graphic or triggering content. We each have profiles to set up too, with our own identifiers, including the traditional beads should we choose to share, and fundraising ribbon titles too! It’s important to set these profiles up in order to be able to participate on the virtual format, but in order to gain access to your profile, or your link to the exclusive site, you must first register, as you would if you were walking. Change for Chantelle is still open for registration if you’re a survivor or supporter looking to experience the Virtual Walk for Change. We are also still accepting donations which go directly to BARCC’s services for survivors and support systems.
I tried my best not to spill all the beans on how BARCC is making the Virtual Walk for Change feel like the real thing in this time of COVID-19. But, I can’t wait for you all to see for yourselves. We can still connect. We can still support each other. We can still show up for survivors. We are about a week out from one of my favorite days of the year, and although it’ll be different, it’ll still be a moment to honor survival. You bet your ass I’ll still be celebrating my own healing journey and yours!
If you’d like to join me or to show up for survivors through donation: https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/2580185
Getting Good at Running Away 