Alex Antoneshyn CTVNewsEdmonton.ca Journalist, Published Sept. 9, 2024 2:31 p.m. MDT
Retrieved from https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/bissell-centre-leads-red-shoe-rock-walk-to-draw-attention-to-fasd-1.7031121
The Bissell Centre tried to catch the attention of downtown Edmontonians on Monday with a 2.2-kilometre walk through the city’s centre in bright red shoes.
The group of about 75 were following in the footsteps of RJ Formanek, an Ontario man with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) who wore red shoes with the hope of starting conversations about FASD and who inspired the official awareness initiative known as the Red Shoes Rock Walk(opens in a new tab) in 2013.
“With this being a bit of a stigmatized and misunderstood condition, this visibility does help spark conversation and does help increase that interest,” Bissell Centre spokesperson Chris Schieman told CTV News Edmonton.
According to the government, about four per cent of Canadians – 174,000 Albertans – live with FASD, although the number is believed to be underestimated because of the stigma surrounding the condition.