 The 13th annual Mayor's Walk Against Domestic Violence, which is our opportunity as a city of Columbia to bring awareness to the incidents of domestic violence and also empower our residents and citizens with information so that if they are encountered with a victim of domestic violence or even a perpetrator of domestic violence, they have information that they can help those people. So it's about building a community that supports victims and survivors and also making them aware of the resources that are there to help them, which in Columbia would be Sistercare. They could also call our organization and we can try and help them find legal help that they need. So there are people who care. There are the resources out there and we all need to do a better job as a community of educating ourselves on what that is and how people can access them. I am a domestic violence survivor. I've been out of my relationship for about 15 years. A lot of survivors or victims of domestic violence are ashamed and embarrassed to tell their stories. But I think we have an obligation, especially when we get out of those situations, to reach back and help someone else and to encourage them so that they'll know that they too can be a survivor. This is one way that we can support victims and let them know that there are resources available and that we stand united. This is a way that we can collectively come together and be a support to victims who otherwise may not have that support. So these events are very important, not just during the month of October. Domestic violence is at an epidemic proportion here in South Carolina and we have to step up to make sure that we eradicate it. And this is one step, a way that we can begin to heal the hurts that have, over the past 20 years, South Carolina has been in the top, 10 in the nation for men who killed women. And this is an important step and this is just a step, but it's a big step and I'm glad and proud to support it. I think probably the most important impact I think that this walk has had over the years is I have people all the time say, you know, because I was at the walk and I heard this story or I got this information, I was able to learn more about domestic violence. You know, the thing about it is domestic violence traditionally hasn't been talked about a whole lot in our community until the last like 20 years and so there are still lots of folks who need to be educated about what domestic violence is and then what resources are available. And I think that that's been the biggest thing because people have been empowered by the information that they've gotten here at the walk and then they've been able to take it back into their churches and their communities to really make a difference.