Lauren Book to launch 11th annual ‘Walk in My Shoes’ trek across Florida

For the 11th year in a row, former state Sen. Lauren Book will lead supporters for a 1,500-mile trek across the state of Florida, from Key West to Tallahassee, beginning Tuesday to raise awareness for childhood sexual abuse.

The “Walk in My Shoes” timing corresponds with National Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Child Abuse Prevention Month, both recognized in April.

New to the walk this year, Book’s foundation, Lauren’s Kids, is launching a survivor oral history storytelling initiative called The Voices Project.

“For eleven years, we have walked across Florida to shine a light on child sexual abuse and to remind survivors they are not alone,” Book said. “This year, we are expanding that mission by creating space for survivors to share their stories in their own voices.”

The Voices Project allows survivors throughout April to anonymously record their personal testimonials of abuse and survival. A mobile recording unit will travel with walkers along their journey to gather testimonials. Others who wish to participate can sign up at LaurensKidsWalk.org — and, to expand the project’s reach, survivors everywhere are also invited to submit audio recordings of up to five minutes by emailing [email protected]. Recordings will become part of a growing digital archive focused on awareness, education, and survivor empowerment.

The walk will begin in Key West on Tuesday and conclude on May 1 near the Florida Capitol, with participants clocking 25 miles each day. The event seeks to raise awareness for childhood sexual abuse and will feature survivors and advocates as well as schools and educators who teach Lauren’s Kids’ Safer, Smarter Kids abuse prevention curriculum program, law enforcement, sex crimes prosecutors, community and elected leaders.

The Walk in My Shoes journey is personal. Book is a survivor herself. What began as one woman turning pain into purpose has grown into a statewide movement to protect children and heal hearts. Over the next month, Book will stop in communities across the state to walk alongside fellow survivors, advocates and local leaders, calling attention to a crisis that affects 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys before they turn 18.

Through Lauren’s Kids, Book has made it her life’s mission to end child sexual abuse. The nonprofit’s award-winning prevention curriculum programs, Safer, Smarter Kids and Safer, Smarter Teens, teach age-appropriate safety skills in schools across Florida and beyond — because 95% of child sexual abuse is preventable with education and awareness.

There are more than 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse in the U.S. — and every day, new cases are reported in Florida. The walk is a chance to say: no more. No more silence. No more shame. No more abuse.

Stops on the walk include:

— March 31 – Key West

— April 2 – Miami-Dade/Homestead

— April 3 – Miami

— April 4 – Fort Lauderdale

— April 6 – Boca Raton

— April 7 – Naples

— April 8 – Sarasota & Bradenton

— April 9 – Tampa

— April 10 – Pasco

— April 11 – Lakeland

— April 12 – Orlando

— April 14 – Space Coast

— April 15 – The Villages

— April 16 – Ocala

— April 17 – St. Augustine

— April 18 – Jacksonville

— April 19 – Gainesville

— April 22 – Pensacola

— April 23 – Milton

— April 24 – Niceville

— April 25 – Panama City

— April 28 – Lake City

— April 29 – Marianna

— May 1 – Tallahassee