End Trash Talk!
What happens when you bring a group of Ontario teenagers with epilepsy together and film them talking frankly about what bugs them? “End Trash Talk” is what happens!
Facilitated by Epilepsy Toronto and The Epilepsy Support Centre (London, ON), End Trash Talk is one of the most compelling campaigns about epilespy ever produced. End Trash Talk gives a voice to kids who are usually the target of misconceptions and fear. The campaign was designed for-youth by-youth with epilepsy to tell the world about their frustrations, hopes, aspirations and the reality of living with seizures.
Funded by an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant, the campaign was seeded during a conference held last year where 20 teenagers from Ontario gathered to discuss, learn and identify the key issues about epilepsy that affected their lives.
During the conference, the participants talked about being called ‘a freak’ by a boyfriend; being excluded for fear that their condition was contagious; being ditched by friends and being the object of unwanted attention. They shared their experiences and learned that they weren’t alone, that in fact other kids just like them were bugged by just the same things. For many, the process of developing their messages and recording their videos was a life changing experience that led to new relationships, new insights and a sense of community they hadn’t felt before.
During the conference, the participants were provided with training in media and interviewing techniques with the aim of building their confidence to create End Trash Talk video PSAs, a website and other social networking media.
Filmed at Emac Studio, the End Trash Talk PSAs will be launched on television in November and plans are in the works to use their messages for education and awareness raising events.
The End Trash Talk website is an interesting, informative and interactive site that hosts personal stories, mythbusters and areas where YOU can send in your own personal stories about epilepsy. It also hosts a page of the epilepsy agencies in Ontario and links to their websites and emails.
“The general consensus among all youth is that society doesn’t know enough about epilepsy, and that the lack of general knowledge is what leads to being mistreated and misunderstood, if we are to make a difference, then we need to educate the public, while showing others with epilepsy it is okay to talk about it and get it out in the open.” ~ Chris Brittain, Public Relations Coordinator, Epilepsy Support Centre.
Epilepsy Waterloo Wellington is incredibly excited about this groundbreaking and exciting initiative! It’s amazing to see our youth - our future - get their voices heard! Congratulations to all involved!!!!
For more information, visit www.endtrashtalk.com or call us at 519-745-2112