April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Pagosa Springs is answering with visible action.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 29, our community will come together for ‘Denim Day’ and a special movie fundraiser at the Liberty Theatre. These two simple ways show sexual assault survivors they are seen, believed and supported.
Denim Day began as a worldwide response to victim-blaming and the harmful idea that clothing can invite violence.
Here in Pagosa, wearing jeans is more than a fashion choice; it’s a public promise to stand with survivors. On April 29, pull on your denim and consider giving $5 to Rise Above Violence. Your donation helps fund local services that make a real difference: a 24/7 crisis line, immediate support after an assault, counseling, legal advocacy and prevention programs in our schools and community. These are the resources that help neighbors and friends find safety, healing and hope.
That evening, the Liberty Theatre will host a screening of “North Country” at 6pm. Tickets are $20 and available at www.riseaboveviolence.org. The film, inspired by true events, follows a single mother who faces severe harassment at work and helps spark one of the first major class-action workplace sexual harassment lawsuits in the United States. “North Country” shows how speaking up, backing one another and refusing to accept a culture of silence can lead to lasting change. Watching it together as a town reminds survivors here that Pagosa Springs values dignity, respect and accountability.
Wearing denim and attending the movie work hand in hand.
When you wear jeans, you make support visible. When you donate, you keep critical services available right here at home. When you show up for the film, you deepen understanding and strengthen our community’s ability to prevent harm and respond with care. Each action says the same thing in a different way: We listen, we believe and we stand with survivors.
So tomorrow, Wednesday, April 29, wear your denim, donate $5 to Rise Above Violence, then join your neighbors at 6pm for “North Country” at the Liberty Theatre.
Get your tickets at www.riseaboveviolence.org and find out more about Denim Day efforts. Together, we can turn awareness into action and keep Pagosa a place where safety and respect are the standard — not the exception.