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About the Hispanic Outreach Initiative

"When I had my first seizure, my family thought I was going to die."

In order to increase the Hispanic Community's understanding of epilepsy and to improve knowledge of the disorder and recognition prior to a seizure, the Epilepsy Foundation national office and its affiliates in Chicago and Kansas & Western Missouri are launching a pilot initiative. The pilot is called "Epilepsy: It's More Common Than You Think," will debut during National Epilepsy Awareness Month in November 2004. The objective is to raise consciousness and to educate the Hispanic communities in these cities about the condition.

"Once when I had a seizure, the store owners thought I was drunk and called the police."

This initiative will set an important precedent for the Foundation's approach to the national Hispanic community in November 2005. The nationwide campaign is part of the national Foundation's partnership with the Centers for Disease Control.

"People think you can't work if you have epilepsy."

"In my country, people think that you're possessed by the devil."

Epilepsy can affect anyone, in any place at any moment… remember, "Epilepsy: it's more common than you think."