RIP Lorian Elbert
![Moment24[1].jpg](http://trouble.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/Moment24%5B1%5D.jpg)
Documentary filmmaker/poet/artist/homeless advocate Lorian Elbert (pictured) died a couple weeks ago, I'm sad to report. I was told she killed herself in Los Angeles. She made two films about people living in poverty and with mental illness: Dignity 1: A Study of Schizophrenia, and Dignity 2: The Human Side of Mental Illness. She was, by all accounts, deeply committed to making the world better for those less fortunate.
In an interview about her work, Lorian was asked what she was hoped poeple would get from seeing her work. She said:
I want them to be moved. Maybe they'll volunteer at a halfway house or maybe they'll be nice to somebody on the bus.
So that's your job. Be nice to someone for Lorian's sake and for the sake of the people she chronicled.
Comments
My name is kelly. I'm 46, bipolar. I've been on the roller coaster for most of my life. Recent events led me to be diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Successful treatment has greatly lessened my bipolar symptoms and even reduced my need for some medication. I'm not here to advocate that anyone do anything. But the connection between apnea and mental health is not well-known. There are probably a very large number of people suffering from both. My neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconness in Boston works with people who are dually diagnosed with both bipolar and sleep apnea. It's virtually impossible to know which came first unless you treat both. I want to get the word out because it's made such a tremendous difference in my quality of life. Let me know if I can write something to post here. thanks. kelly
Posted by: kelly | December 2, 2007 06:31 PM