Updated November 2020
Alliance grants can not be used to replace or supplement third party funded programs, including programs funded by health authorities.
The Alliance funding has increased the stability of community brain injury organizations and supports the growth of programs and services by leveraging of other grants, and fundraising dollars. Data collected from brain injury organizations illustrate the importance of the Brain Injury Fund to the provision of services to individuals with acquired brain injuries throughout BC.
Case managers assisted individuals with housing needs, financial supports, back to work instruction, tenancy advocacy, intervention, disability forms, new funding for COVID-19 related benefits.
Victoria Brain Injury Society
We did not spend Alliance Funds in this category this year. We continued to seek additional funds for this so we could redirect the money to cover staff wages in the other funded categories.
South Okanagan Similkameen Brain Injury Society
Client Services
In 2019-2020, the Brain Injury Fund allocated $875,070 in client services program grants.
Client services programs (one to one and group programs) costs per client were $200.63 for over 4000 clients with acquired brain injuries from Alliance funding.
Injury Prevention and Community Education
Alliance grants for these programs accounted for less than 10% of Alliance grant distribution.
Injury Prevention and Community Education Programs facilitated by brain injury societies impacted more than 43,500 participants in 2019-2020.
This is the only category of service where numbers of participants increased. Facebook Live and other social media account for some of the impact data.
Injury prevention programs for most agencies run in the April to June period so COVID-19 had a major influence on services. For more information on these programs see the COVID-19 section of this report.
The Concussion 101 school program delivery typically runs from February – June as the program is aligned with Science 6 curriculum, the nervous system unit, which is taught during this time period in the schools, as well as relevant physical education curriculum that runs during this time. The program delivery timing allows teachers to tie it to required learning outcomes. This program is facilitated by an NBIS staff member along with fourth-year science/psychology university student volunteers.
Nanaimo Brain Injury Society
Community education programs are designed to:
- Increase knowledge in children & youth, students at all levels including post-secondary and the community at large about injury prevention, especially injury to the brain
- Provide employers, government workers and generic health and social service providers with a basic understanding of brain injury so that they can better serve their clients who are living with brain injury. Community education events often result in new referrals being received by the society.
- Provide everyone in a community with an awareness of the services that are available locally to individuals living with a brain injury. Community events often result in new referrals being received by the society.