This summer Drumheller residents will have a chance to stand with Theoren Fleury and take a moment to rally in support of those who suffered childhood sexual abuse.
The Victor Walk will be coming through Drumheller, July 19. Former Calgary Flames legend Theoren Fleury founded the walk five years ago and it has grown into an annual event.
“Every year we do this, we go five days, five cities, five events,” explains Breaking Free Foundation Executive Director Shandra Carlson.
This year’s walk begins at Fort McMurray. The second day there will be events in Lac La Biche. Day three takes them to Drumheller.
“We will be visiting the penitentiary and then we will be doing a walk in the town,” she explains.
The walk will begin at Angel’s Corner at 5 p.m. and there will be a rally and barbecue at the Badlands Community Facility.
After that, the tour heads to Medicine Hat and finishes off in Calgary. The team travels in an RV and is comprised of Fleury and the board members of the Breaking Free Foundation.
The main focus of the walk is awareness and healing. It is also a fundraiser for the Breaking Free Foundation.
“The Victor Walk started because Theo wanted to push for justice for kids, so he and some friends walked from Toronto to Ottawa in 2013,” said Carlson. “Theo then realized that justice is not the main focus he wants to push, but rather healing. If people don’t heal they are ineffective in the community.”
“His focus changed, and it was after the walk that he and a few people met and said ‘we need to develop a foundation.’”
The Breaking Free Foundation is a new charity, and its main thrust will be offering therapy grants.
“These are for people in Alberta who need trauma therapy. We connect them with a trauma trained psychologist,” she explains. “The Victor Walk is part of what we do, but our foundation doesn’t focus solely on childhood sexual abuse. Any kind of trauma, whether it is PTSD or concussion, injury or divorce. Trauma can be different for everybody.”