The Strength of Us: A Reimagined Walk Experience for MAAV's 31st Year

For 31 years, every October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Melrose has done something powerful: we've gathered and walked together.

Here at the Melrose Alliance Against Violence, we know our Annual Walk pushes back on the shame, stigma, and silence surrounding domestic violence. It shows survivors they aren't alone, activates our community around the power of prevention and support, and promotes relationships rooted in dignity, respect, and equity.

While our purpose for gathering and the familiar two-mile walk route remain the same, we’ve reimagined the pre-walk experience around this year’s theme, The Strength of Us.

Two Truths, One Afternoon

Every October on walk day, we’re mindful that two conflicting truths are present.

One truth is that there is joy in gathering—uplifting the power of prevention and the strength of community to support and stand with survivors. This truth reminds us that we are the solution to eradicating domestic violence. It centers on the hope that we can make our relationships and our communities safer and healthier if we harness the care, courage, commitment and our collective strength to take action.

The second truth is that grief is present. Among us are domestic violence survivors and their loved ones. Some survivors may have found their path to safety and healing, and others are still navigating it. Some may still be in the throes of a violent relationship and are looking for a lifeline. We know too that there are people at the walk who have suffered the most unimaginable loss—losing a loved one to domestic violence.

How do we hold these two opposing truths at the same time and at the same event?

By making room for both: the hope and power of gathering and activating our community, and the pain of remembering what has been lost to domestic violence.

What’s New This Year?

We’re preserving the two-mile route Melrose knows so well while planning pre-walk activities intended to encourage you to engage, revel and reflect before the walk begins.

Here is what to expect on walk day:

• 2:00 PM | Arrival & Activity Stations:  Before you take your first steps, our volunteers and our Student Action Board will host a range of hands-on activities, accessible to all ages, that invite you to explore your personal strengths, what you bring to your relationships, and what you think matters most. We’ll invite you to define your why — Who do you walk for? Why do you show up? Why does walking matter to you? 

  
  

• A Remembrance Space: We’ll hold space for remembrance with a dedicated, quiet area to honor survivors, those we've lost to domestic violence, and the people for whom we walk.

  
  

• 3:00 PM | Honor Line & Walk Start: Special guests will frame the starting area, holding the names of individuals lost to domestic violence in Massachusetts this year. Student Action Board members will begin the walk route, passing through the honor line and grounding our collective first steps in shared purpose, remembrance, and strength.

  
  

Join Us

Whether you’ve walked for decades or this is your first year, your presence matters.

• When: Sunday, October 25th (Gather at 2:00 PM | Walk at 3:00 PM)

• Where: Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School, 350 Lynn Fells Parkway

• Register / Sponsor / Form or Join a Team: maav.org/2026walk

• Questions: Contact Meredith Shaw at mshaw@maav.org or 781.662.2010

  
  

We hope to see you on October 25th!