Expanded funding for brain injury services
Government Press Release
November 20, 2022
The board of directors of the Brain Injury Alliance and community-led brain injury societies in British Columbia are grateful to the Government of British Columbia for the announcement made, November 20, 2022.
The government has chosen to replenish the Brain Injury Fund with funds totaling $1,500,000/year for three years effective April 2023.
As a result, services provided in communities across the province will continue uninterrupted.
Expanded funding for brain injury services
A dramatic increase in brain injuries due to the overdose crisis has led to reports from across the province of increased disorder and repeat hospitalizations and arrests of people living with acquired brain injuries. Regardless of the cause, but with a focus on people at risk of or actively involved in the criminal justice system, new funding will ensure British Columbians living with brain injuries will have increased access to important services, including life skills, behaviour coaching, support groups, and more. The Province is investing $4.5 million over three years to the Brain Injury Alliance to support delivery of these services in 13 communities throughout B.C.
The Alliance, a non-profit organization comprised of 13 community brain-injury societies in B.C., helps more than 4,000 people each year learn how to live with the changes and challenges they face after injury, including those resulting from toxic drug poisoning. Alliance members are community associations that run rehabilitative programs and services, including in BC Corrections facilities, individual support such as life-skills assistance, and homelessness prevention and group services, such as drop-in sessions.
John Higenbottam, president, Brain Injury Alliance, Vancouver –
“People with different levels of acquired brain injuries struggle to find much-needed support services in the community. They are over-represented in the corrections system, homeless populations and people struggling with addiction. These individuals often have overlapping mental-health and substance-use challenges, requiring the highest level of support. The funding provided to the Brain Injury Alliance and brain injury associations across B.C. will go a long way to providing the specialized support that brain-injury survivors require.”
The Brain Injury Alliance is a province wide organization in British Columbia composed of individuals and organizations working together to improve the quality of life for persons living with a brain injury, their families, and their communities.
The Brain Injury Alliance has only two functions; the acquisition of funding to support community non-profit brain injury associations and groups, and to provide Government with an unbiased peer driven mechanism for fair and accountable funding disbursement.
Brain Injury Alliance funding is making a positive impact on lives all across British Columbia. The marvelous programs and services provided by Alliance member agencies are transforming lives, decreasing costs to government, and helping families to cope with the changes. Communities are becoming more aware of what brain injury is, and most importantly, how to prevent it. Health professionals are being educated and trained to deal with brain injury, and indigenous communities are being empowered to better protect and serve their communities.
It is when you meet or read about the individuals in the “Stories” section of our website, like the success story about Guy, that the meaning of what we do now, and what we must continue to do in the future, becomes real.
The Alliance applauds Government’s investment in the brain injury community, and strives for a continuing commitment to ensure that individuals and families have the supports they need when facing the changes and challenges that come with brain injury. Alliance funding helps British Columbians to get the assistance they need to move forward with their lives, putting them first in line to take advantage of an exciting future. Government’s support of the Brain Injury Alliance is a prime example of why British Columbia leads the nation in economic growth and social development.
Brain injury is forever. In order to ensure cost-effective and efficacious, evidence-based and outcome-driven services, and considering the complex needs of persons with brain injury, a variety of sources for services and supports must exist at the local level. This will require integrated planning, and establishing and sustaining broader partnerships with other partners in the communities.
Government of British Columbia, 2002
This (Alliance) funding allowed for the Northern Brain Injury Association (NBIA) to provide case management services in over twenty-five (25) communities in northern BC.
NBIA
The Alliance makes it possible for us to continue with this vital program (What’s Next Peer Support). This program creates the desire to make a difference in their lives and the lives of other peer supporters…with the tools to help them move forward.
Campbell River Brain Injury