The Victoria Street Bridge will glow purple this Saturday evening as part of a province-wide effort to raise awareness for lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects thousands in British Columbia.
The bridge is one of more than a dozen landmarks across the province participating in the Lights for Lupus campaign, organized by Lupus Canada to mark World Lupus Day on Saturday, May 10.
From dusk to dawn, the purple lights will symbolize support for the estimated 50,000 British Columbians living with lupus and the roughly 5,000 new cases diagnosed in the province each year.
Lupus causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, leading to inflammation and damage in various parts of the body. It can affect anyone, but most often strikes women between the ages of 15 and 45.
“The faces of lupus are your loved ones, friends and co-workers. They need our support,” reads a message from the BC Lupus Society.
Other B.C. landmarks joining the initiative include Vancouver City Hall, the Burrard Street Bridge, Science World, and the Fitzsimmons Bridge in Whistler.
Additional sites like Surrey Civic Plaza and the Sails of Light are expected to participate later in the month.
The campaign aims to bring greater visibility to lupus, which remains widely misunderstood despite its serious impact on daily life.
