"The event featured a powerful and emotional HS Connect runway show where individuals living with HS walked in custom gowns emblazoned with statements designed to shatter common myths, such as "We're not dirty" and "We're not contagious." The live event confronted stigma and fostered empathy for this often-misunderstood condition. "We're really trying to combat all of those stigmas... to show on that runway that that is not who we are.""
"Her mission is deeply personal, as her two daughters, including one who walked in the show, also live with HS. "I did not want my kids to carry that same weight... I wanted to do it differently, mostly for them, and then realizing what an impact that has on everyone else in the community... that naturally translated into being kind of an overarching theme of bringing people together," Brooks notes."
On October 4 in Times Square, a high-visibility campaign focused on hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a chronic inflammatory skin condition marked by painful nodules, abscesses, and draining tunnels that significantly impair quality of life. A central HS Connect runway show featured individuals with HS wearing gowns bearing statements to dispel myths like being dirty or contagious, directly confronting stigma and promoting empathy. Brindley Brooks, a long-term HS patient and founder of HS Connect, traced her advocacy to a transformative surgery and personal experience with unmet community needs. The campaign amplified visibility, emphasized that HS affects diverse people, and called for community support.
Read at BlackDoctor.org
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