HARTFORD -
With lots of heart and, perhaps, more soul -- or sole -- they were walking the walk on Franklin Avenue in Hartford Friday morning. "We are walking for everyone in general in our community and we need to send a message loud and clear," said community activist Angel Morales.
With the Latino beat blasting from a shiny black Denali, courtesy of the Mega 910 Morning Show, there was a jump in their step -- about 40 members from the Hispanic community headed south in an effort to stomp out domestic violence. ''We've been reporting more than what we want to, stories about domestic violence not only in our native Puerto Rico, Latin America, South America, Mexico, but also in our local area," said Victor Nieves, better known as Mega 910's morning radio show host "Trikki Trikki".
The event was officially called "Walk a Mile in Women's Shoes" so that's exactly what they did -- everyone, even the guys.
"We want to raise awareness, show people we are with them," said Mega 910's AJ Burgos as he high stepped in a pair of bright orange women's platform shoes. 6-foot-1, 220-plus-pound DJ Trikki told us it took him three days until he could find a stylish rainbow striped pair of women's platforms in a size 12-1/2.
Iris Ruiz, a director from the Interval House, a shelter for battered women, said: "The most important thing is that they stood up, its men that stood up and said, 'You know what? no more, let's represent, let's represent victims of domestic violence.'''
After their morning trek, everyone agreed that a few blisters go miles for their message. "Hopefully we can turn this into a yearly trend, maybe three times as large next year and every year afterwards," Nieves said. Ruiz added, "We have zero tolerance and we have to stop the violence."
The Interval House in Hartford has a 24-hour hotline, 860-527-0550. The statewide domestic abuse hotline is 888-774-2900.
With the Latino beat blasting from a shiny black Denali, courtesy of the Mega 910 Morning Show, there was a jump in their step -- about 40 members from the Hispanic community headed south in an effort to stomp out domestic violence. ''We've been reporting more than what we want to, stories about domestic violence not only in our native Puerto Rico, Latin America, South America, Mexico, but also in our local area," said Victor Nieves, better known as Mega 910's morning radio show host "Trikki Trikki".
The event was officially called "Walk a Mile in Women's Shoes" so that's exactly what they did -- everyone, even the guys.
"We want to raise awareness, show people we are with them," said Mega 910's AJ Burgos as he high stepped in a pair of bright orange women's platform shoes. 6-foot-1, 220-plus-pound DJ Trikki told us it took him three days until he could find a stylish rainbow striped pair of women's platforms in a size 12-1/2.
Iris Ruiz, a director from the Interval House, a shelter for battered women, said: "The most important thing is that they stood up, its men that stood up and said, 'You know what? no more, let's represent, let's represent victims of domestic violence.'''
After their morning trek, everyone agreed that a few blisters go miles for their message. "Hopefully we can turn this into a yearly trend, maybe three times as large next year and every year afterwards," Nieves said. Ruiz added, "We have zero tolerance and we have to stop the violence."
The Interval House in Hartford has a 24-hour hotline, 860-527-0550. The statewide domestic abuse hotline is 888-774-2900.
