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June is National Brain Injury Awareness Month

June 16, 2016   ·   0 Comments

What’s the leading cause of death and disability worldwide?

If you guessed brain injury, you are correct.  By the time the clock strikes midnight tonight, there will be 144 new brain injury cases in Ontario alone… today.

In 2016, over 18,000 Ontarians will suffer an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). For those who have suffered an ABI in the Dufferin-Caledon community, however, 2016 marks the 5th Anniversary of Peel Halton Dufferin Acquired Brain Injury Services (PHD ABIS) opening their doors to those whose lives have been forever impacted by an ABI.   In  January of 2011, those living with an ABI in the Central West region were finally given the lifeboat they needed to support them in facing the staggering challenges of an ABI… some of them waiting for over 20 years for these type of services to be offered closer to their homes.

Funded by the Central West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, PHD ABIS is a not-for-profit charitable organization committed to making a difference for ABI survivors by collaborating with community partners, supporting ABI advocacy initiatives, and offering hundreds of ABI survivors, their families and caregivers community based rehabilitation and re-integration services.   The ABI survivors and their families/ caregivers  who have become PHD ABIS clients now walk through the PHD ABIS doors in Orangeville with direct access to day services programs, case management, clinical services, and psychological support groups, all of which are instrumental in the recovery and rehabilitation process.

On Thursday, June 16, the Central West offices of PHD ABIS (located at 695 Riddell Road, Unit 3 in Orangeville), will be commemorating their fifth anniversary and continued commitment to making a difference in the community, by inviting ABI clients, their families/ caregivers, community partners, and special guests (including Orangeville’s Mayor, Jeremy Williams, Headwaters ABI, and representatives of the CW LHIN)  to share in a celebration that will run from 3:00  to 5:00 p.m.

June is also ABI Awareness month, and in alliance with the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA), PHD ABIS will also be promoting the OBIA June ABI Awareness campaign messages: “The Face of Brain Injury”, Concussion Hits Home! (Concussion & Domestic Abuse) and DON’T – Drive Only… No Text!, in an attempt to promote public support for not only preventing the leading cause of death and disability in Canada, but to also build awareness about the life altering impact of ABI for survivors, the strong need for increased resources and the enormous expenditures ABI inflicts on our healthcare system – estimated to be $12.7 billion per year!

With over a million Canadians living with the effects of an acquired brain injury, it is imperative that we as a community, Province and nation, continue to be committed to truly making a difference in helping ABI survivors and their families.

PHD ABIS invites you to join them in doing just that, and marking the successes of those touched by ABI on June 16.

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