SIDE BY SIDE BRAIN INJURY CLUBHOUSE INC
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : c***i@s*****************e.o*g
Mission Statement
Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse advances the long-term well-being of people with brain injury-related disability and their families through skills development, support and advocacy.
About This Cause
Brain Injury is known as the invisible injury. Every year, 1.7 million people in the US sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and 917,000 sustain acquired brain injuries (ABI), such as stroke. In Georgia, about 65,000 new brain injuries occur each year. The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) estimates that 1 in every 60 people in the US have a TBI, not including wounded service personnel or those who acquired brain injuries via strokes and other illnesses. Thankfully, metro Atlanta offers nationally renowned hospitals that treat brain injuries, including Grady, Shepherd Center, Emory, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The lives of hundreds of people are saved each year by these facilities, and then the lifelong journey of recovery really begins. Once the brain injury survivor is medically stable, intensive rehabilitation begins and patients re-learn basic ADLs – activities of daily living – like eating, walking, using the restroom, and for many, transferring in and out of wheelchairs. After completing hospital-based outpatient programs, brain injury survivors and their families often find themselves in a quandary. The elation at the survival of their loved one quickly becomes a question of, “now what?” People with brain injuries often cannot return to life the way it was before their injury. Thinking and communication skills, behavioral control, and physical abilities are impacted to different degrees depending on the injured areas of the brain and severity of the injury. The CDC and National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) now recommend that moderate to severe traumatic brain injury be classified as a chronic health condition. This shift means that there is growing awareness of the need for lifelong care. Nationally, lifelong services lag way behind those that save a life since they are not covered by health insurance and thus remain a huge gap; one that Side by Side was developed to fill. Requirements to Become a Member: To join Side by Side, a person must be over the age of 18 and have an acquired brain injury (TBI or acquired through illness after birth). Side by Side's Day Program: Family Support: Seventy five percent of Side by Side members live with family. Therefore, we must support the entire family in addition to the person with brain injury who attends the weekday program. The family is learning a new way to relate, as relationships have shifted. Some parents find themselves afraid to let their adult children out of their sight after having nursed them literally back to life, spouses feel more like parents instead of partners and siblings are suddenly having to tell their older brother they are their legal guardian. Side by Side offers a monthly family support group where caregivers vent, share tips, and learn from community experts about topics such as planning for the future. They want to be sure their adult children have a safe place to live and will be well cared for after they are gone. Our social worker and other clinical staff are called upon daily to help families learn coaching techniques and identify needed resources. Volunteer/Paid Employment: Our vocational specialist provides cognitive support strategies for people with brain injuries so that they can be productive in the community. Some members can go back to work with the right supports. Others need more support than a typical workplace can provide. For those, our vocational specialist coordinates with local nonprofits to provide regular group volunteer outings at: Lion’s Lighthouse, Fernbank Museum and the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Food Bank honored us as their Civic Group of the Year for 2019. Skill Building: Members and staff work side by side to operate the Clubhouse while building social, thinking and work skills necessary to regain self-sufficiency. These skills are commonly referred to as Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, or IADL’s. Program hours are 8 am to 3 pm with some evening and weekend activities. Members volunteer in one of three work units: Maintenance, Kitchen or Business. Each work unit has distinct tasks. The goals of active Clubhouse members vary; however they are always incremental steps to increase the members’ independence and overall quality of life. Certified Brain Injury Specialists work with each person differently because each injury is different. In addition to our weekday ‘work-based’ program, staff meet monthly with each person to track progress and set new goals. They offer support on financial, physical and emotional health and teach members to advocate for themselves so that the voices of people with disabilities are heard by community leaders as they make policy decisions in housing, transportation, health, education, and other publicly available services. One day of Skills Training and Support Services in Side by Side’s day program costs the organization $154 per person. Services provided on any given day, depending on the need of the member include: • Employment preparation and job coaching • IADL skills training in group ‘Work Units’ including Kitchen, Business, and Maintenance as well as through individualized Life Skills Services • Transportation and direct supervision at community volunteer sites • Service coordination and self-advocacy support • Evening/weekend community-based social activities Family Services include: • 10 peer support groups per year • Individual coaching and resource identification as needed • Caregiver respite on each day their family member is taking advantage of our day program