Community Conversation: Uncovering the Impact of Substance Use on Youth and Families

On October 21, 2025 Eluna presented a special screening of the independent film, What We Hide, followed by a 30-minute Community Conversation titled Uncovering the Impact of Substance Use on Youth and Families. This educational event brought advocacy and film making together with the goal to increase public awareness of how substance misuse, particularly overdose loss, impacts youth and families, and to spark vital conversations about prevention and support. 

The panel featured What We Hide Director & Writer Dan Kay, who discussed the film’s message of breaking stigma and silence around substance use; Gianna, a Camp Mariposa Philadelphia Mentor, who shared personal stories of resilience and the power of community support; and special guest Jesse Williams, actor and activist, who spoke about the role of storytelling in fostering empathy and awareness. The conversation was moderated by Sam Adams, Senior Editor at Slate Magazine.

Watch the Film:

• What We Hide: After their mother suffers a fatal overdose, two sisters fear that the foster system will separate them and decide to hide the body. The film, What We Hide explores the effects of addiction on children and families. Starring: McKenna Grace, Jojo Regina, Jesse Williams, and Dacre Montgomery. Order the film.
• What We Hide Discussion Guide: To support reflection after watching the film, we’ve created a printable discussion guide – perfect for use by caregivers, support professionals, and adult family members. Whether used in a support group, professional training, or personal reflection, this guide invites meaningful conversations.

Related Resources:

• Overdose Grief Resource Hub: Central set of resources that have been carefully created by Eluna and thoughtfully compiled from our partners and other leaders working in the fields of substance use disorder (addiction) and grief.
• Postcard Pointers: Overdose Grief: Pocket-size tips that can be easily shared with the people who need them the most – caregivers, support professionals, frontline workers, and camp staff.
• Explaining a Substance-Related Death to Children: Comprehensive & compassionate article written by Camp Erin Director, Lauren Schneider, about the importance of language and truth-telling during these important conversations.
• Overdose Grief in Philadelphia: Infographic exploring key statistics & strategies to address overdose deaths in Philadelphia and the surrounding 5 county region (Greater Philadelphia).

Meet the Moderator:

• Sam Adams is a staff writer and Senior Editor at Slate, where he writes about movies, TV, and popular culture. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Indiewire, Entertainment Weekly, Variety, and the Hollywood Reporter, among many other publications.  He is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics, and his essays on Two-Lane Blacktop and Greendale are included in The B-List: The National Society of Film Critics on the Low-Budget Beauties, Genre-Bending Mavericks, and Cult Classics We Love.

Meet the Panelists:

• Jesse Williams is an award-nominated actor and activist best known for Grey’s Anatomy, Take Me Out, The Cabin in the Woods, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, and Little Fires Everywhere. He also produces acclaimed media and champions social justice through art, tech, and education. His recent roles include Only Murders in the Building, Your Place or Mine, and Secret Headquarters, with leads in What We Hide and Amazon’s Hotel Costiera. Off-screen, Williams co-founded VISIBILITY and serves on the board of Scholly, helping students access millions in scholarships.
• Gianna Calligy is a third year medical student and a mentor at Camp Mariposa. After growing up in a profoundly addicted family and witnessing a death to an overdose as a teenager, she sought out programs that help youth cope with similar experiences, which led her to Camp Mariposa. Camp Mariposa has shown her (and many others) that there is hope and healing when children are provided with a supportive community and are allowed to kick back and have fun despite the hardships they have been through. She is grateful to the Eluna Network for their incredible work with at-risk youth and hopes that this event will inspire others to serve as mentors. To everyone who has experienced family addiction: there is hope!
• Dan Kay is an award-winning writer and director prolific in both film & television. His film WHAT WE HIDE (f/k/a SPIDER & JESSIE), which he both wrote and directed, just had its World Premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and is being distributed by Gravitas Ventures with the release date set for August 2025. The film stars Mckenna Grace, Jesse Williams, Dacre Montgomery and Jojo Regina. Dan also wrote and directed the film WAY OFF BROADWAY which was bought by the IFC channel after an award-winning run on the film festival circuit. Dan’s feature writing credits include I.T. starring Pierce Brosnan, PAY THE GHOST starring Nicolas Cage, and TIMBER FALLS. On the TV side, Dan is currently creating a limited series based on Jonathan Eig’s best-selling biography of Lou Gehrig for Apple TV+. The series is a Universal TV production and is being produced by Lorne Michaels through Broadway Video and the New York Yankees. Dan has also developed numerous TV series, working in collaboration with major studios and networks including ABC Studios, ABC Signature, Legendary TV, Warner Bros. TV, BBC America, TWC, Starz and eOne.

Support Programs:

• Camp Mariposa is a year-round addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth ages 9 to 17 who have been impacted by the substance use disorder of a family member. Youth attend transformational weekend camps and participate in fun traditional camp experiences combined with educational and support sessions. Camp Mariposa provides a safe, fun and supportive environment that is critical to breaking the cycle of addiction and is offered in partnership with youth-focused organizations in communities across the country.
• Camp Erin® is the largest national free grief camp network for kids, teens, and families grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. A variety of day, overnight, and online camp programs empower youth and their adult caregivers to explore their grief, build coping skills, and have fun in a supportive community through a mix of grief support and camp activities. 
• Camp Erin Online provides free, online support for families to come together, learn ways to navigate grief, and connect with others who have shared experiences. Through ongoing family grief support groups and creative grief expression events, families can be intentional about setting aside time and space to reconnect and remember together.
• The Eluna Resource Center offers confidential, personalized support in English and Spanish as well as a comprehensive online library of resources and referrals for youth and families impacted by addiction, grief and related complex challenges. On a mission to educate and equip, the Eluna Resource Center also offers Community Conversations, Care Packages, and the ability to save and share customized lists of resources within your community.

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