TAMPA, Fla. — For the nearly 1% of the population impacted by vitiligo, Beautifully Unblemished Vitiligo Support Group wants to make sure those impacted know there is support locally.

The nonprofit organization is presenting "Mind My Skin: Beyond the Surface Mental Health Forum." 

What You Need To Know

  • Vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder and nearly 1% of population is impacted. It is not contagious

  • Beautifully Unblemished Vitiligo Support Group is hosting Mind My Skin: Beyond the Surface Mental Health Forum on April 27

  • Vitiligo patient Shazaad Games said he's grateful for the support he's received since his diagnosis about a decade ago

“It’s really important, because not only does it help them to meet others who have experienced the same thing, but it also helps to give them hope and to know how to manage the disease, the progression of the disease, and just other resources are available for them,” said licensed clinical social worker Khalilah Caines.

Shazaad Games is grateful for the support he’s received since his diagnosis about a decade ago.
“I truly felt like my life was over,” he said. “When the spots started to appear, I remember one person saying, ‘I know what that is, that’s that Michael Jackson disease,’ and feeling less than a person, it was tough.”

Games says he turned to a support group to help work through those tough times.

“(It) brought me back to a really good place mentally, emotionally, physically — in all aspects,” said Games, who said he now feels comfortable in his own skin and stopped seeking re-pigmentation treatment.

“I feel like my skin is a work of art, so I always try to take photos, take pictures,” he said. “I am unapologetically me, and that’s who I will always want to be.”

Beautifully Unblemished Vitiligo Support Group’s “Mind My Skin: Beyond the Surface Mental Health Forum” will be held Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center in Plant City. To register, e-mail info@beautifullyunblemished.org or call (800)-484-5320.