KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kayla Desroches/KMXT
Organizers of the upcoming Choose Respect march have high hopes for turnout this year.
Julie Beehler, a quality support specialist with the Providence Kodiak Island Counseling Center, says they’ve been active in spreading the word – in part through advertisement in local media like the newspaper. She says St. Mary’s School has signed up for the march and she expects at least 100 attendees.
Beehler says this event will be about spreading the word and bringing common – and often taboo – issues out into the open.
“And so it’s kind of figuring out what does respect look like? And how can we show respect and especially in the areas of domestic violence and sexual assault, breaking these cycles and raising awareness about survivors of sexual assault and survivors of domestic violence and how respect manifests itself in that. Or lack of respect.”
Beehler says she hopes people will come forward and share their stories at the march, which will be held Thursday in communities around the state.
In the city of Kodiak, it’ll start at noon at the Sun’aq Tribal Hall and will end with a resource fair in the same building. Different organizations will set up booths and be available to speak with the public until 3 p.m. that day.
The village of Old Harbor will also be holding its annual respect march. That’ll be Friday at about 1 p.m. starting at the school gym.
