Halo's One Hope to light up the town on Friday

COEUR d’ALENE — People are feeling blue this week, but not because they're melancholic.

Blue is the color of awareness for Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, a cause to which Coeur d'Alene 12-year-old Hailie "Halo" Velasco and her team are bringing attention for Coeur d'Alene's Diabetes Awareness Week.

In recognition of Type 1 diabetes, which affects about 1.25 million Americans, Hailie and her nonprofit, Halo's One Hope, have partnered with The Coeur d'Alene Resort to bathe The Resort in blue light at 6:30 p.m. Friday during the third annual Light up the Town Blue event.

"I feel like a lot of kids need help," Hailie said Tuesday. "They need support they aren't getting and I feel like Light up the Town Blue gives then confidence and lets them know that they're not alone."

Hailie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on Oct. 22, 2014. This autoimmune disease stops the pancreas from producing insulin and saps the energy from its victims, makes them thirsty and hungry and blurs their vision, among other symptoms.

As well as affecting its patients, this disease also weighs heavily on the families of those afflicted.

"It's a constant worry," Hailie's mom, Lyndsey Neufeld, said in a 2015 Press interview. "It never leaves you."

Despite the challenges Type 1 diabetes has thrown her way, Hailie has managed to keep "kicking butt," as her mom says. She will be awarded her second-degree black belt in taekwondo in the spring, and she continues to advocate for people living with Type 1.

"We have our ups and downs, but she's doing great," Neufeld said.

Light up the Town Blue is held in November as a part of Diabetes Awareness Month. The event brings the community together to raise awareness and funds for families of children who have been recently diagnosed.

"It feels really good to know that I can help people and that people are promoting it," Hailie said. "I really like how people are supporting it."

Michelle Albertson, assistant to Resort President Bill Reagan, said when Hailie's mom approached them about helping, Hagadone Hospitality President and co-owner Jerry Jaeger said, "Of course."

"We feel it's a great cause to raise awareness for diabetes," Albertson said.

While on stage, a few kids with Type 1 will say their names and ages into the microphone, as well as what they want to be when they grow up.

"It's kind of cool to see these little kiddos, especially when they're like 4 and they say, 'I want to be a superhero,'" Neufeld said. "That's my favorite part."

The entire community is invited to gather near the clock tower, snap on a blue glow bracelet or necklace and help this diabetes superhero as she continues her mission of lifting up those with Type 1 diabetes.

"I plan on doing this yearly, and there's talk of doing more events, not just in Coeur d'Alene, but Washington and Spokane," Hailie said. "I think it would be awesome for as many people to come as they can."