By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The annual Take Back the Night Walk returned to Bancroft on Sept. 24 for its fourth year here in town, although the movement has existed since the early 1970s. Unlike the previous years where the walk began at Millennium Park, this year's walk began at the Bancroft Village Playhouse with speeches and then the walk occurred afterward, along Bancroft's main street. Melissa St. Pierre, executive director at Maggie's Resource Centre, and Kathy Taunton, the board chair at Maggie's, comment to The Bancroft Times about this year's walk. 

St. Pierre told The Bancroft Times prior to the walk that planning was going very well and that their staff had done a great job organizing this year's event. 

“We're excited about some of the changes we've made. We've had great community support for the walk over the years.  We don't ask people to register, it's more of a event open to everyone,” she says. 

Take Back the Night is primarily an awareness campaign, and it's about coming together as a community to raise awareness about violence against women and gender-based violence, and to stand together in support of safety, equality and the right for everyone to feel safe in their community, according to St. Pierre. 

“This year, we are starting at the Village Playhouse. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the event beginning at 7 p.m. with speeches. Following the speeches, we will walk to the lights at Vance's and then turn around and return. One of the really special things about this year's walk is that businesses downtown will have candles lit in their storefronts as we walk by. We think this will be truly amazing and will create a powerful visual demonstration of community support.I would encourage everyone to come out and be part of it. It's a great opportunity for our community to come together, show support and raise awareness. Whether you've participated before or this is your first time, everyone is welcome,” she says. 

St. Pierre said that they were really looking forward to this year's event and are grateful to everyone who is helping to make it happen. 

“Our staff have done a great job organizing the walk, and we're especially excited to see the downtown businesses taking part with the candlelit storefronts. It's going to be a wonderful way for our community to come together and show that we stand together to support survivors and bringing awareness to event,” she says. 

On the night of the walk, Maggie's board chair Kathy Taunton thanked everyone for being there and supporting the cause and then read the land acknowledgment. 

“At its heart, Take Back the Night is about saying that everyone has the right to live, walk, work, and simply exist without fear of violence or harassment. It's about creating spaces where survivors are believed, supported and heard. It's about recognizing that preventing violence is something we all have a role in. Tonight is an opportunity to listen, to remember, and to stand together,” she says. 

Taunton then introduced Bancroft Councillor Tracy McGibbon, who 

Said she was honoured to be there representing the Town.

“Tonight we stand beside survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence, harassment, and abuse. We honour their courage, we believe their experiences and we remember those who may not feel safe enough to share their stories. Everyone deserves to feel safe, not only in their own home but in our streets, in our workplaces, in our schools and throughout our community. No one should have to change how they dress, where they walk or what time they go out because of fear of violence. But creating a safer community takes more than one evening or one walk. It requires us to listen without judgement, speak up when something is wrong, teach respect and consent and ensure survivors can access the support they need without shame or fear. As a wife and mother and grandmother, this issue touches me deeply. I want the women and girls in our community and every person who has experienced violence to know that they are seeing that they are valued and are not alone. Tonight we walk together in solidarity and tomorrow we must continue to work together. Let us take back the night challenge, the silence that allows violence to continue and build a community where everyone can live with dignity, respect and safety,” she says. 

Next up, Dawn, a veteran, death doula, and advocate for raising awareness for this cause and supporting others, was there with her service dog Duchess, and conveyed her experiences in the military with abuse and how she tried to stop it with 12 other women who experienced similar abuse, with little effect initially. 

“There was a lawsuit started, a class action lawsuit for survivors of military sexual trauma and there were groups started, so I got to finally meet like minded people. In those 20 years I married three narcissists because I was accepting the love I thought I deserved, which was none. So after my last marriage, I knew there had to be something better out there. I met these like minded people in these groups and all of a sudden I wasn't alone. Now one of these ladies I met and one of the reasons I'm here is her name was Maggie, who passed away this summer. 

So she was in the military in the 80s and 90s, where if you were an LGBTQ person you were harassed and they tried to get you out. She was posted somewhere and was not allowed to get promoted six years in a row, because she was gay. So Maggie and I met about nine years ago, and she had the utmost respect for what I'd done and she knew I wasn't getting out of the house and helped me to see who I was. She came to my house and we talked and I no longer felt alone in the world. She started me on a journey of being comfortable being uncomfortable leaving my house meeting new people. Maggie turned her pain into purpose with all the things she went through. She started a fishing initiative for veterans in Orillia, she started coffee chats, she wrote a peer support program for the sexual misconduct and response centre, which has since been renamed and she took all that pain and used it for purpose and she taught me how to do that. So I've been out doing speeches and using what happened to me and to a lot of people, and speaking out so that others can find their voice. Because I know that when you start speaking and it's not stuck anymore you just start feeling, it flows better. And Maggie made me a beautiful shadow box and she put ‘I can and I will' to remind me that even on my darkest days, I was a light in her life and I need to find the light in my own and keep going and that no matter what I can and I will. And anybody can, it's just whether you want to make that choice. Like I've learned you can be better. And I spent a lot of years being negative and bitter and now I'm trying to be better and be in the heal people heal people instead of the hurt people hurt people. I am meeting the most beautiful people and it's so true, when you change your vibe you find a different tribe and I'm just grateful to be here with you wonderful people today and to speak with you and tell you about my friend Maggie and to be walking down the street to make it safe again because you know if it can happen anywhere, anytime. I'm grateful for everything that happened to me because I wouldn't be me if I didn't and I would have met the beautiful, courageous people across the country, if nothing had happened to me. So thank you for this opportunity,” she says. 

Jody and Christina spoke next, conveying their reflections and what Maggie's, the people and the programs they've participated in, has meant to them over the years. 

Taunton told The Bancroft Times after the walk, that overall, the event went very well, and they really enjoyed the Village Playhouse as it was a beautiful and cozy venue. 

“Our speakers did a wonderful job sharing their stories, experiences and why Take Back the Night and Maggie's Resource Centre of North Hastings are an important part of the community.   My highlight was seeing all the candles in the windows of our businesses downtown,” she says. “I have always said Bancroft is a special place and our business owners proved they support  the work we do and how important it is for  the community to come together to help us.”