EFNE President/CEO Speaks on Stigma Panel
Hosted at Boston Children's Folkman Auditorium, the event brought together guests to watch and discuss the film, "The Curse of Stigma."
While discussing the film and reflecting on Epilepsy Foundation New England’s own work, Susan Linn commented that “so much of our direct service is rooted in this community-centric approach to meet clients where they are. EFNE’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) connect clients to resources and services both within EFNE and outside the Foundation. CHWs and their work is essential to building and strengthening the epilepsy community we have here in New England.”
Pictured from left to right are Discussion Moderator: Dr. Phillip Pearl, Director of BCH Epilepsy & Clinical Neurophysiology, Kurt Eichenwald, NYT bestselling author of "A Mind Unraveled," Susan Linn, President and CEO of Epilepsy Foundation New England, Dr. Archana A. Patel, BCH Global Neurology and Epilepsy, and Chris Ryan, BCH Epilepsy Social Work
Watch the Documentary “The Curse of Stigma”
A powerful and intimate documentary film, “The Curse of Stigma” tells the story of Kenyans living with epilepsy and the pain, isolation, and harm they have suffered because of discrimination and deeply embedded cultural beliefs.
Their ultimate understanding of epilepsy as a treatable condition leads them to better health and brighter futures. By telling their truth, and the truth about epilepsy, they overcome shame – the ultimate curse of epilepsy stigma.
The documentary has been accepted into fifteen different international film festivals and was awarded Best Documentary Short at the Hollywood Boulevard Film Festival. The Whitten-Newman Foundation and BAND Foundation partnered together to produce "The Curse of Stigma" and are donating all funds raised from the film directly to the International Bureau for Epilepsy’s Africa Anti-Stigma Campaign.
Executive producers Hannah Whitten and Gardiner Lapham presented the extended trailer of The Curse of Stigma at the 2023 International Epilepsy Congress in Dublin, Ireland. Both women drew inspiration for the film due to losing loved ones to epilepsy, Dylan Cheatwood and Henry Lapham.