It was quite the sight to see in downtown Orlando Thursday night -- dozens of men donning high heels to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

  • Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, a fundraiser for Harbor House of Central Florida
  • Men donned high heels and walked through downtown Orlando
  • RELATED:
    • National Domestic Violence Hotline:
      1-800-799-7233
    • FL Coalition Against Domestic Violence Legal Help Line:
      1-800-500-1119, press 3
    • Harbor House Crisis Hotline:
      407-886-2856

One of those men who "Walked a Mile in Her Shoes" was Emilio Ferrerio.

“I figured I’d do the full commitment. It’s walk a mile in her shoes, so I wanted to see how it really feel to literally walk a mile in her shoes. So I’m like to do the part, I have to wear the heels, the romper, the earrings, the full outfit," said Emilio Ferrerio.

Drawing cheers and applause, Ferrerio and his friends confidently strutted their stuff through downtown Orlando for a good cause.

Each stride was an important step to help survivors of domestic violence.

“I feel good. I’m creating awareness and like Kenny said, we texted some of our other friends, we did some research on it, found out about the organization, what it does for people and we’re like 100 percent on board. We’re doing and we’re trying to have a little bit of fun with it too," Ferrerio added.

“As soon as I heard about the cause for domestic violence, the awareness for that, it’s huge," Kenneth de la Flor said.

“I was definitely proud to put them on. Look at that red. That’s what I’m trying to do now, trying to survive," de la Flor continued.

It wasn’t an easy stroll along Orange Avenue but that was the point for hundreds of people.

Participants had to be “man enough” to strap on high heels, while speaking out against domestic violence.

“And so when we have men partake in awareness about it, then it’s all going to be solution-based, because a lot of times it is men perpetrating violence against women. And so when men say it’s not OK, other men tend to listen to it," explained Michelle Sperzel, who has been the CEO of Harbor House of Central Florida since January 2017.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes will benefit survivors seeking shelter at Harbor House.

“We provide all of our services to anybody who is a victim of domestic violence completely free and so anybody can come in and stay at our emergency shelter, have access to any of our lawyers (to) file an injunction," Sperzel shared.

Meanwhile, Ferrerio said looking back, he’s known people experiencing domestic violence.

“I want to say when I was younger in middle school, I did," Ferrerio commented.

Now he’s glad he’s doing his part to raise awareness and resources.

“It just feels good to know that there is an organization that’s willing to help out families that are in need like that, because sometimes you just don’t know where to run to or who to go to, so it does make me feel good now," Ferrerio shared.

In 2016, "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" event raised more than $40,000.

Organizers are hopeful the 2017 edition will raise even more money.

“Someone is a victim when they’re going through it but when they start reaching out for help, they’re a survivor," Sperzel said. 

Find domestic abuse help in Central Florida: