Walkers in brightly coloured shoes on Wednesday afternoon hoped they might bring some attention to a condition one agency says affects nearly 1.5 million Canadians. The Red Shoe Walk downtown was organized by the Bissell Centre to spread awareness for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), characterized by a broad range of developmental delays that happen to someone exposed to alcohol in the womb. The centre estimates FASD affects about four per cent of Canadians but suspects under-reporting has contributed to that stat being much lower than it should. The Bissell Centre held a Red Shoe walk this afternoon to raise awareness and promote understanding for people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). “Because of its prevalence throughout the country and common misunderstandings about it, we feel it’s pretty imperative to be sparking these conversations and trying to increase this awareness and understanding of what it means to be living with it,” Bissell communications specialist Chris Schieman said. The widespread nature of FASD also means supports and services for those affected by it can vary and often need to be highly case-by-case. “People will experience all kinds of different barriers … A lot that people experience tends to revolve around executive dysfunction, which can present a lot of barriers to things like maintaining a household,” he added. “We’re instituted a lot of permanent supportive housing programs to try to help people find their stability, so this is very near and dear to us.” The red shoe was inspired by an Ontarian named RJ Formanek, who wasn’t diagnosed with FASD until he was an adult in 2013. He was the first to throw on a pair of bright red shoes to stand out and start talking about it in his neighbourhood. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch
