A Timmins singer is putting a spotlight on French-speaking people living with epilepsy.
Céleste Lévis is helping Epilepsy Shop promote its new collection of French merchandise that launched April 20.
Epilepsy Shop was created by Epilepsy Ontario in November 2020.
By using a regional code, buyers can get a 15 per cent discount and support any of the 14 epilepsy organizations across the province. In Timmins, the discount code supporting the Seizure and Brain Injury Centre (SABIC) is 012.
Lévis said she doesn’t have epilepsy but she’s met and worked with many people who have it.
“When it comes to awareness, it’s really important to do that and I have a platform for it and it’s nice to reach certain communities sometimes,” Lévis said. “Even though I don’t have epilepsy, I think it’s important for all those that do have that.”
The French T-shirts are called “Dear Epilepsy” and have a message written in French by someone with epilepsy.
Similar T-shirts with an English message had already been available on the website.
Locally, proceeds from the Epilepsy Shop's sales will go toward the UPLIFT support group that will be launched in the fall, said SABIC’s executive director Anne Marie Sorsa.
The recurring program will be held between the agencies in Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay. It will run twice a year, according to Sorsa.
“We know people living in the north have unique needs, sometimes different than people in southern Ontario. We want to make sure our group captures the essence of people living in the north with epilepsy,” Sorsa said.
For the program, a group of about eight people will meet virtually for eight weeks. The group will be facilitated by a trained healthcare professional and someone with a lived experience of having epilepsy or caring for someone with epilepsy, seizures or seizure disorder.
The support group will focus on coping strategies and review how different life experiences may affect a person. Some of these experiences can be challenges with an employer, depression, financial struggles or challenges in a relationship. The program will be free to clients and each participant will get a manual.
"When I thought about the funds as they do come in, it's like 'Yeah, let's preserve them for this very interesting and very needed support group,'" Sorsa said adding she's also trying to save money to make sure the materials and resources are always up-to-date.
In March, Lévis was asked to help promote Purple Day and Epilepsy Awareness Month. She made a bilingual video, which was then used for a project for the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance.
"I think I was one of the only francophone supporters for the Epilepsy Awareness Month," she said.
Trevor Gordon, Epilepsy South Central Ontario’s media and government relations worker, saw Lévis' video and reached out to her to promote the shop's new French collection in order to reach a wider audience.
According to Gordon, the T-shirts are the first shirts on the market talking about epilepsy in French.
“We really want people living with epilepsy that speak French to have a shirt to express themselves,” Gordon said.
