NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Contact: Kim Baca, [email protected] or (505) 270-3890

CSVANW Hosts 2nd Annual #IWillRunForHer Walk/Run To Honor Domestic Violence Victims and Survivors

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – October 13, 2017 – In commemoration of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and to honor victims and survivors of domestic violence, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW) will host the 2nd Annual #IWillRunForHer Community 5k and 1k kids’ run Saturday, October 14 at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute.

“We started this event to honor the experiences and voices of our Native women and children who have been impacted by violence, as well help those who have witnessed violence or work in this field to find a way to heal our communities,” CSVANW Executive Director Deleana OtherBull said. “By presenting this issue as part of finding well being, we can continue healing and find prevention in positive ways. Running, healthy living and movement are medicine.”

The issue becomes more important as four out of five of Native women are affected by violence, with 55 percent of their experiences being domestic violence, according to the May 2016 National Institute of Justice’s Research Report on Violence Against Native Women.

“We know that domestic violence shakes our families to their core,” OtherBull said. “Events like these create space to empower families and our communities to break the cycle of violence.”

Community resources will also be present at the free event, including representatives from the Native American Professional Parent Resources, Notah Begay III Foundation, SAFE House Shelter, Enlace Comunitario, National Indian Youth Council, Institute of American Indian Arts, Street Safe, and Five Sandoval Indian Pueblos, Inc.

Reps. Georgene Louis (D-Albuquerque) and Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo), members of the New Mexico Legislature Interim Indian Affairs Committee, will participate. David Adams, former Assistant New Mexico U.S. Attorney and Tribal Liaison, will also run, stating: “In order for us to move forward, we need to acknowledge the past, so we can break the cycle of violence so our young children are not subject to the same hardships that many of our women have faced over the years. It doesn’t always have to be at a conference or a meeting, it can be a fun event that spreads the same powerful message through sharing and dedication.”

Registration and packet pick up will begin at 8 a.m. The 5k run/walk will begin at 9:15 and the children’s’ 1k will start at 10 a.m. at SIPI’s sports and track field. The first 200 adult finishers and 50 kids finishers will get a #IWillRunForHer Coalition race shirt and the top three male and female runners will receive medals. More than 275 runners are expected, some traveling from Arizona and Colorado.

A special thanks to our sponsors: Zia Graphics, the Pueblo of Isleta, the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Exhibit Solutions of NM, Forms Plus, Crime Victims Reparation Commission, American Indian Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico, Ron and Elaine Soliman, the Native American Community Academy, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the UNM Indigenous Nations Library Program, the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute and the UNM Kiva Club.

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