Calgary-made film explores serious medical, social issue in hopes of changing attitudes

The day-to-day struggles of individuals experiencing homelessness are beyond most people’s comprehension, but adding diabetes to the mix makes a difficult situation even harder.  

Jeremy Auger, who has Type 1 diabetes and has suffered from cardiovascular conditions, knows this first-hand. 

For a time, Auger experienced homelessness, facing violence and hunger while also trying to manage his diabetes, a condition that requires constant care and comes with many problems, including a strong risk of developing cardiovascular conditions like heart attacks and strokes. 

“Diabetes is a roller-coaster you can’t get off of,” says Auger. 

“At my lowest point, I collapsed and went into a coma for three weeks. I had partial paralysis and even suffered a heart attack. 

"I now live with nerve damage due to diabetes.” 

Today, Auger has stable housing and is keen to raise awareness about the plight of individuals experiencing homelessness and diabetes. 

He’s become a member of the Calgary Diabetes Advocacy Committee (CDAC) led by Dr. David Campbell, an associate professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine (CSM). 

CDAC began in 2021 and is a collaborative group made up of UCalgary researchers along with community-based co-researchers who have lived experience with diabetes and homeless. 

CDAC uses participatory action research, an approach that involves researchers and people with lived experience collaborating to understand social issues and then take action to bring about change.

Short films shine a light on living with diabetes

In the spring of 2023, the group took on the challenge of educating the public, as well as the workers in the homeless-serving sector, about diabetes in order to reduce the stigma people like Auger face. 

The team created the short film, LOW. 

The film was based on the experiences of Bobby, a fictional character who struggles with homelessness and diabetes. The character’s story was an amalgamation of the experiences of CDAC members. 

Now, the research collaborative is releasing a follow-up film, titled Low Priority, produced and directed by Scott Westby, principal at Calgary-based film company Pluto Pictures. 

Low Priority continues Bobby’s story as he is admitted to the hospital after his dangerously low blood sugar causes him to have a seizure.  

Bobby’s journey to the hospital is a revealing portrait of how stigma and judgment follow people experiencing homelessness through the health-care system and showcases the resilience needed to navigate not only a life-threatening condition in an impossible situation, but also an overburdened system. 

Once again, the narrative is based around the combined lived experience of CDAC members, including Auger, who is pleased with how the film turned out. 

“The film brought tears to my eyes,” says Auger. “It’s so real.” 

Pre-judgment an issue for many with diabetes

Campbell says the story is painfully factual for the one in 10 homeless individuals living with diabetes. 

“Diabetes is common in the homeless population, and a lot of the time the patients get blamed for their inability to manage their blood sugars," says Campbell, MD'12, PhD'17, PGME'17, PGME'19.

"But often, we don’t consider the social factors that put individuals in these precarious situations.” 

Auger says when you’re homeless, finding healthy food to stay healthy is nearly impossible. Auger often found himself surviving on a diet of fast food and the high-carb fare served at most homeless shelters. 

He says he faced a lot of judgment, sometimes from other individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as shelter staff, passersby, police officers and even health-care providers. 

Auger found a lot of people would jump to the conclusion that he was intoxicated from alcohol or drugs when he was having a medical emergency due to high or low blood sugars. 

“Studies show that almost 100 per cent of those who are precariously housed or are experiencing homelessness have had traumatic experiences,” says Campbell. 

“Medical trauma caused by actions of health-care workers can be part of this, and that creates a barrier for individuals seeking care.”

Auger says this is a reality for him and has, at times, seriously impacted his ability to receive the proper care. 

For example, during one hospital visit, while confused and delusional due to his medical condition, he was labelled as an unruly patient, a label he is still struggling to overcome. 

Created to educate

Campbell says Low Priority was created to educate and develop empathy in front-line medical staff, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, and touches on themes of trauma, stigma, prejudice and the importance of trauma-informed care. 

Auger hopes the film will help raise awareness about the challenges associated with diabetes and help those facing diabetes and homelessness get the care they need.  

“If people take what they get from the movie and tell at least one other person, that will go a long way,” says Auger. 

The first public screening of Low Priority is at the Calgary Central Library on Dec. 3 as part of the CSM’s Science in the Cinema series. Register to attend.

The original film, LOW, can be viewed here.