Click here to view the online video.

The original article appeared in the January 11th Edmonton Journal and was titled Keeping mentally ill out of the cracks.

NABIS wrote a reply as a letter to the editor and it got published on January 18th. The reply was titled Brain-injured deserve more support.

Click here to donate to NABIS online through CanadaHelps.

The following is the text of the letter that was sent out in November:

November 2008

Dear Friends,

From statistics reported by the Alberta Council of Injury Control and Research, we know that 11,000 Albertans sustain a brain injury each year. Half of those brain injuries are from strokes. Half of the clients we serve at NABIS come because of a stroke. From statistics reported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, we find that more than 50,000 strokes occur each year in Canada; that’s one stroke every ten minutes. Even more staggering to contemplate is the fact that
approximately 300,000 people live with the effects of stroke in Canada.

What happens to them? For every 100 people who have a stroke, 15% die, 10% recover completely, 25% recover with a minor disability, 40% have a moderate to severe disability and 10%
require long term care because of the severity of their disability. Some of them end up at NABIS but we would like to help more.

‘Together…the Impossible’ was the theme of our 25th Anniversary GALA held on October 25th and the flavour of our celebration as we contemplate twenty five years of service to people affected by brain injury. We started out in 1983 to ’help along the way’ and have realized over the years that we can only do it ‘Together’.

With your financial support, we can reach more people who are living with the effects of stroke. As the population ages, there are only going to be more survivors of stroke and other brain injuries. With your financial support, we can offer more community supports so that more people affected by brain injury can do more than just survive.

We ask that you choose to provide hope and support to those who do ‘the impossible’ every day.

Thank you.

Patrick Hirschi (President)
P. Ross Bradford (Executive Director)

P.S. NEW provincial tax implications; every dollar you donate over $200 annually is a 50 cent tax credit.

NEW way to donate, check out our website, www.nabis.ab.ca

Charitable # 11905 9723 RR0001

In April 2008, the Alberta Disabilities Forum (ADF) received funding from Alberta Health and Wellness to conduct a study, the Respite Care Demonstration Project, in order to address the needs and challenges facing you in your valuable role as a primary caregiver. The Government of Alberta is taking a proactive approach with this study in order to understand caregiver challenges, by working in partnership with the ADF.

To be a participant in this phase of the project, you must be the primary family caregiver of a person with a disability, and live in the same household as that person. If you share care giving responsibility with another person within the household, you are still eligible, but applications are limited to one per household.

By participating in this project, you will be using grant funding which will enable you to access respite care services, while providing the ADF with evidence that is community-based and Alberta-specific.

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Please contact your NABIS Service Coordinator or contact person to get more information about this grant.

Click here
to see the Edmonton Journal Article about Eddie the Eagle, NABIS, and NABIS’ 25th Anniversary GALA. At the Edmonton Journal site you will have to scroll down a bit because our article is the second one down.

On Monday, July 28, 2008 the Edmonton Journal posted an article titled Don’t count him out.   Click on the title to go to the Edmonton Journal webpage if you want to read it.  The article brought much needed attention to what brain injury survivors go through and it pointed out how crucial support is.

NABIS wrote a letter to the editor in response to the above article so to make people aware of where and how they can get support.  Our article is titled Much can be done to aid stroke victims.