Talking about it is the best way to fight it. That’s what Planning committee member Mike Anderson says is the goal of Breakfast with the Guys. The yearly event brings men and women together to come up with ways to end gender-based violence. Anderson says the event started 10 years ago to address that issue in the community.
“Ten years ago the social community that dealt with ending domestic violence in our community got together and said you know what we have great men in this community and we need them to be informed and be leaders.”
Anderson has been involved with the event for the last five years. He says he’s seen a shift during that time from an awareness event to a call to action.
“The breakfast has kind of shifted. We still bring that awareness piece and say Odyssey House is still full right now. Last year we had 400 women and 200 kids stay at Odyssey House. This issue is still in our community but here’s some things that you should think about.”
Anderson will also be the guest speaker at this year’s event. He says the best way to help end domestic violence in the future is to keep talking about it.
“I want people to come away with something that hits them and gets them thinking and encourages them to go back into their communities and talk about it. The big thing is that we still have to keep talking about this to keep moving the needle forward.”
The free breakfast will be held at Grande Prairie Regional College at 6:45 am on November 13th. There are still tickets available and registration is required. To register, visit their event page.