Advocacy

Advocacy is when a person or organisation speaks on behalf of an individual to communicate certain needs, views or interests. At BIA NSW we strive to help people living with an acquired brain injury (ABI) to push for changes in law, policies and practices that affect their day-to-day lives. The Individual Advocacy Service offered by BIA NSW can help brain injury survivors push for more suitable services in the community, assist with the navigation of these services as well as provide support and advice when making a complaint or when representing needs to government agencies, service providers and the wider community.

Information and Referral

Our vision of equality cannot be achieved unless we meet the needs of people living with an ABI.For this reason, we have a number of information channels which provide information about ABI and the services available to survivors, as well as their families, friends and carers. Through our library, database, newsletters, seminars and website we aim to provide accessible and relevant information about topics that affect the everyday lives of brain injury survivors. In addition, our referral service provides links to reliable and relevant service providers who can also help to empower people living with an ABI.

Case Management Service

The BIA NSW Case Management service is a specialised service designed to meet the complex, individual needs of people with acquired brain injury. It is based on a client focussed model with flexibility to tailor programs to meet the individual goals of clients. The service adopts a collaborative approach, involving clients, carers, family and other community services in identifying and addressing the specific needs of each client. The Case Management service also aims to increase the capacity of existing services in the acquired brain injury sector to respond to client needs through identifying systemic gaps.  More...

Speakers Bureau

The BIA NSW Speakers Bureau has been successfully operating since 2006 educating the community about the consequences of road trauma. The Bureau consists predominantly of member volunteers who have sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury through a road accident. These individuals share their personal stories to various audiences reinforcing the importance of road safety. The Bureau also has members who have sustained an Acquired Brain Injury through other causes and we are gradually expanding the Speakers Bureau audiences, to provide these individuals with the means to share their experiences. The Program is a ‘win win’ situation for the audience and the Speaker. The audience learns vital information from a real life - ‘live’ story, and for the Speaker, their experience is not only acknowledged, but they also have a chance to work on independence, social contact, confidence building and any specific cognitive issues in a very supportive environment. If you are interested in this program, please contact the BIA NSW Speakers Bureau Coordinator for a chat about the Program and an information pack.

BIA NSW CarerLink Peer Mentoring Program

In 2007, the Brain Injury Association of NSW established and implemented a Peer Mentoring pilot project called Links2Support. The program involved partnering a person with experience of caring for someone with an ABI (mentor), with another person recently exposed to this experience (mentee). The purpose of the program was to offer peer support to family members of a person who had an ABI.

Following the success of the pilot project, and now with funding secured, we are able to establish a longer term Peer Mentoring Program with a new name, CarerLink. We are very excited about the program and the opportunity it will offer to support all carers of people with an ABI living throughout NSW. This program allows people to share their experience with someone who has experienced a similar challenge.  More...

Training

The BIA NSW provides relevant and ongoing education and training for our members, staff and service providers. Our training programs can be delivered in a number of ways and are customised to suit different needs. We can provide seminars and workshops, guest speakers or telephone conferencing, and our training materials can be made available by post. This training can benefit a wide range of interested parties including brain injury survivors and their families, as well as support workers, employment agencies and carers. Our training topics include understating ABI, managing challenging behaviour, community linking and managing carer stress.