RUMFORD — For the third consecutive year, the Safe Voices organization is hosting a walk at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, in support of ending domestic violence.

Diane Gallagher of Safe Voices said Monday that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, adding that police Chief Stacy Carter and the Oxford County Domestic Violence Task Force came up with the idea to hold a local walk to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Carter said that he is a member of the Oxford County Domestic Violence Task Force, and that “as a group, we’re always trying to think outside of the box to come up with different ways to bring awareness to the community about domestic violence.

“We brainstormed a little bit to see how we could engage the community, and we decided to organize a walk in the Rumford area to get the community a little more active with this issue,” Carter said. “The Safe Voices organization already does a walk in May, but we wanted to expand what they did and bring it to this area. We tried it a couple of years ago, and it’s gone really well so far.”

The walking route will begin at Hosmer Field, where participants will walk to the Rumford Island along Route 2 before turning around and walking back to Hosmer Field.

Carter said that while he and other officers with the Rumford Police Department were distributing fliers about their Paint the County Purple campaign, they included information about the walk.

“We’ve asked businesses in the community to come out and join us, whether it’s as an individual or as a group,” Carter said. “We’re just hoping to get a little more participation this year.”

For more information, call Diane Gallagher at 364-9908 or email her at dgallagher@safevoices.com.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com