West Helena event to raise lupus awareness at Kingdom Believers Church

Families in West Helena had a place to gather Sunday for more than worship: the Lupus Awareness Purple Praise Party at Kingdom Believers Church, 5963 Summer Ave. Ste. 101, ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and was organized by the Memphis Lupus Support Group. The event put lupus in a familiar, faith-based setting, giving residents a local spot to talk about a disease that can affect every part of the body and often takes years to sort out because its symptoms vary so widely.

The Memphis Lupus Support Group says its work is built around the idea that every person is resilient and that resilience grows through community support. That approach fit the church setting in West Helena, where a health conversation carried the tone of fellowship rather than a clinic visit. The Lupus Foundation of America says support groups are meant for people living with lupus, caregivers, parents, family members, partners and loved ones looking for understanding and peer support, a scope that matches the kind of gathering that can draw in an entire household, not just a patient.

The stakes are high. The CDC estimates that 204,000 people in the United States have systemic lupus erythematosus, including about 184,000 females and 20,000 males. It says 9 out of 10 people with lupus are women, and the highest risk falls on women ages 15 to 44. The agency also reports that Black or African American, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian and Alaska Native populations are affected more than White populations, with Black and AI/AN women two to three times more likely than White women to develop lupus and to face more severe disease.

Arkansas lawmakers have already treated lupus as a public health issue. House Bill 1145, introduced in 2023, proposed Lupus Awareness Day on April 23 and said the disease can lead to heart attacks, strokes, seizures and organ failure. The measure also said lupus disproportionately affects women of color, underscoring why local awareness events matter in places like Phillips County.

Those local needs are real. Phillips County’s 2020 population was 16,568, its median household income was $40,134, and 7.6% of residents under 65 were uninsured. In a county of that size, where health care access and information can shape whether people get help early or too late, a church-based gathering offered a practical form of outreach: a place to learn, connect and make a chronic illness feel less isolating.