The Family Advocates for Brain Injury Survivors is a committee of the CGB Centre for Traumatic Life Losses.
The purpose of the committee is to determine affordable and accessible housing and support solutions for individuals living with a brain injury. Specifically, the members are comprised of parents, survivors, family representatives, and research students with a vested interest in the development of “Forever Homes” with supports for survivors of brain injury.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Identify ways to raise awareness and come up with strategies to achieve better housing support.
- Research the current housing and living supports available for individuals with disabilities.
- Collaborate with survivors and families to identify what supports are needed.
- Identify gaps in current knowledge and practice within local, provincial, and federal governments, as well as community-based organizations, national organizations, and healthcare settings (which include long-term care and assisted/independent living facilities).
- Advocate for these institutions/organizations to create affordable and accessible housing with appropriate and ongoing supports for people living with brain injury.
Activities
- Identify ways to raise awareness and determine strategies to achieve better housing supports.
- Research the current housing and living supports available for individuals with a brain injury and/or other disabilities.
- Converse with survivors and families to identify supports and services as needed.
- Put together a complete package that any group/individual can take to their local city council to make a presentation with. This includes, but is not limited to, a paper/report, PowerPoint, print materials and speaking notes.
- Listen to and document the families/parents brain injury experiences and stories to use for future advocacy campaigns and material.
How to participate: Our committee wants to hear from you. We would like to know what the housing situation is in your area. Is more needed? What are the challenges? What needs to change? We have developed a very short survey to get an understanding of what survivors and families in British Columbia are dealing with in terms of housing and supports.
The survey is completely confidential. We do not ask your name or gather emails. However, we do ask what city or region the individual is living in as we want to understand what is and is not available. To answer this brief survey, click here Brain Injury Housing Needs Survey.
