'Everybody's journey is different': Meet the B.C. man who started Canada's first vitiligo support group
A B.C. model and actor is helping people with vitiligo come together and share their stories with a support group he co-founded.
Vitiligo is a condition that causes skin to lose its pigment in patches, which happens when melanin-producing cells die or stop working. An estimated 0.5 to 2 per cent of the world’s population has vitiligo, according to the Canadian Dermatology Association.
Omar Sharife told CTV News living with the condition can be especially challenging if there’s nobody to talk to about it.
“It’s essentially a condition that changes your identity,” he said. “There’s a lot of mental health issues and challenges when you’re established as an individual and then your identity and skin colour is changing beyond your control.”
Sharife said he’s moved into a state of greater self-acceptance over the last few years because he connected with other people who have vitiligo, and finally heard other people share the feelings he’s had for decades. That’s why Sharife helped create Vitiligo Voices Canada at the beginning of this year, which calls itself the first support group of its kind in the country.
“There are a number of really great support groups across the U.S., but Canada is really lacking in that sort of support group or connection,” he said.
Vitiligo Voices Canada hosts a regular virtual drop-in for people to share their experiences. And since June is vitiligo awareness month, the group has been posting personal stories on its social media to help get word out.
“It’s incredible the amount of help that it gives people, and it’s a big part of people’s journey wanting to just speak out loud the truth of what they’re going through,” Sharife said.
He adds that vitiligo affects everyone differently—some people might get one spot, while others’ skin will change dramatically, and some people develop it at a young age while others get it when they’re older. And people have differing levels of acceptance of their condition. “Everybody’s journey is different,” he said.
That being said, Sharife’s message for Canadians is to be sensitive and aware that everybody is at a different stage of their vitiligo journey—something to keep in mind on Tuesday June 25, which is World Vitiligo Day.
Several landmarks will light up in purple for the international awareness day, including BC Place, Science world and the Vancouver Convention Centre. Vancouver City Hall will be lit up in purple on Wednesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump's Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults
Donald Trump took the stage Sunday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden to deliver his campaign's closing argument with the election nine days away after several of his allies used crude and racist insults toward U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and other critics of the former president.
B.C. election results: Mail-in ballots heavily favour NDP, only absentee ballots left to count
The majority of mail-in ballots tallied this weekend for the final count in B.C.’s nail-bitingly close 2024 provincial election went to the NDP, increasing the party’s chances of clinching a third term.
Here's when you need to change your clock back
Millions of Canadians will notice their clocks turn back by one hour on Nov. 3, marking the end of daylight saving time this year.
New polls show Sask. NDP leading over Sask. Party ahead of election day
A pair of new pre-election polls indicate that the Saskatchewan NDP has a slight lead ahead of election day.
17-year-old charged for driving 188 km/h on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
A 17-year-old Ottawa driver was caught speeding nearly 90 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417.
Hollywood star Victor Garber gets emotional after surprise meeting with his former teacher in London, Ont.
Victor Garber got teary-eyed when he walked into a brunch in his honour Sunday in London, Ont.
Another bumpy week ahead as Trudeau faces deadlines from Liberal MPs, Bloc
Another week, another raft of imminent challenges to Justin Trudeau's leadership of both the country and the Liberal Party.
He lost a finger and survived a kidnapping. Then, this climber took on a 9,000-foot 'death-trap'
With jaw-dropping big wall ascents and a life packed with adrenaline and adventure, climber Tommy Caldwell has had a career worthy of – and captured by – a feature film.
How to make sure your used clothes go to the right place – and not to organized crime
Giving away used clothes for a second life feels like an act of charity – and it often is. But it’s become more complicated. A W5 investigation has discovered allegations that organized crime players are muscling in on charities to access their donation bins.