ANNUAL REPORT 2013 2014 Sharing the Road Less Travelled
Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dale McCue President TABLE OF CONTENTS Alan Glover Greg Rodin Bob Yoisten David Blois Kate Merkowsky Rob Rappel Tara Pipella SABIS STAFF Vice-President Treasurer Past President Secretary Director Director Director Board of Directors... 2 SABIS Staff... 2 President s Message... 3 Programs and Services... 4 Programs and Services... 5 Volunteers... 5 Donors... 6 Revenues and Expenditures... 7 Balance Sheet... 8 Mission, Vision and Values... 9 Denis Cooney Executive Director Joe Schreiber Program Manager Natasha Bodei Fund Development Cheryl Sayward Intake Coordinator Kasey Pearson Service Coordinator Denise Gordon Service Coordinator Jenelle Wasilow Service Coordinator Michelle Bowers Service Coordinator 2
Annual Report 2013 2014 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 2013/14 has been a year of transition for SABIS. Towards the end of the year saw Denis Cooney leave SABIS after many years of serving the Brain Injured Community and we wish him well as he takes up his new life in Ontario. 2013/14 also saw the start of the transition of the new Government contract serviced through PDD (Persons with developmental Disabilities). This new contract continues with the commitment of SABIS to provide services and support to adults with acquired brain injury except that it will focus on outcomes and goals. The actual measuring of outcomes will be developed over the next transition years but will centre on the development of personal support networks, community and client involvement, the desire to achieve independent living and the overall knowledge of Acquired Brain Injury. In this respect SABIS will be positioning itself in 2014/15 to meet these requirements and continue to provide key support to its clients in their road to recovery. 2013/14 was a banner year for SABIS in continuing to provide ongoing support to clients and families and this was facilitated by a strong showing of support through our annual fund raising events including the Family Brunch in February and the Annual Astrid s Walk N Roll in June. These two events alone raised over $42,000 which is utilized in part to support the Weekly Support Groups. Considerable effort was made in the year to strengthen these Support Groups and new groups were added and more activities were provided. The overall Client Services programs were further improved by the addition of new staff including Michelle Bowers who brings particular strengths to SABIS. SABIS is particularly proud to run the Caregiver Support Groups which provides a key component to the caregivers of someone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury and gives the opportunity for those people to understand that they are not alone and that there is a tremendous support group behind them. SABIS also took further steps to strengthen its involvement with the Brain Injury Program at Foothills to support those families as they transition from the hospital. 2014/15 promises to be an exciting year for SABIS as it moves into its 30th year of operation. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank all the staff and supporters of SABIS for their continued support throughout the year and I look forward to working with everyone as we move into future and celebrate 30 years of providing key support to the Brain Injured Community. Thank you, Alan Glover, President of SABIS 3
Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society PROGRAMS AND SERVICES The past year saw many exciting new developments in our programming and service delivery here at SABIS. The core of our program continues to be Service Coordination providing adults with acquired brain injury and their support networks with resources, referrals, information and support. We assist individuals and their families in accessing resources in the community by providing information and referrals for basic needs such as AISH benefits, housing options, food hampers, clothing, employment counselling, Access Calgary, and recreational and leisure activities. Because we are potentially a lifelong support we are able to continue to provide resources and supports for survivors as their needs change and evolve on their post injury journey along this road less travelled. To facilitate the best support possible we are constantly striving to improve our service delivery process. We have continued to develop our new FileMaker database to ensure more efficient and effective tracking of our clients needs and progress toward meeting their goals. We are also refining our Intake Process to be more responsive to new referrals and returning clients. This will allow us to assess a potential client s readiness for service, establish a process for delayed follow up where appropriate and communicate more effectively with the wide variety of community referral sources so that, in the end, fewer survivors will fall through the cracks. The ability to engage and network with a wide variety of community resources is another aspect of successful program development and service delivery. SABIS continues to maintain contact with community interagency committees and is a regular member of the Calgary Interagency. We are also part of the Brain Injury Interagency, a group of community agencies and AHS programs that meets quarterly to share resources and developments throughout the network of local brain injury services. We also represent brain injury on a couple of cross disability initiatives. Over the past year we were invited to join the Action Committee on Disabilities and Abuse (ACDA), which is a working committee of the Calgary Domestic Violence Collection (CDVC). It was created in 2005 to address the gaps in service for persons with disabilities while creating awareness around the issues of abuse and bringing together professionals from the different sectors with a goal to reduce and prevent incidents of abuse against persons with disabilities while educating the community on resources. In addition we continue to be actively involved with the Persons with Disabilities Chief Advisory Board of the Calgary Police Service, a committee of disability focused community organizations created to help improve understanding on the police force of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. As a result of this involvement, SABIS has taken part in a new Emergency Alert ID card pilot project. These new ID cards are now available for SABIS clients who 4
Annual Report 2013 2014 have significant cognitive, communication or mobility challenges. They are designed to enable the police or members of the public to assist a survivor in contacting their home or support person should they become lost or encounter difficulties in the community. Finally, over the past few years we have launched two new support programs. For caregivers we developed a four week peer support session called Companions on the Road Less Travelled. This is a facilitated group that allows for focused discussions around some of the key themes that impact the families and friends of survivors post injury. We encourage participants to talk about their fears, their sense of loss their frustrations with the emotional and physical changes in their loved one and help them explore positive goals for themselves and their futures. For some of our clients who were looking for an opportunity to explore personal issues regarding their new identities and revised goals for the future after injury we created a Personal Growth Group. This group was designed to be a focused, time limited session drawing to a close after one year. About halfway through their journey the participants shared their amazing and inspirational stories with everyone at our SABIS Family Brunch in February 2013. Due to the success of this group, we have now added the Personal Growth sessions to our weekly Peer Support Groups, giving many survivors the opportunity to build on their growth as well as pursue their own personal endeavours and goals. VOLUNTEERS Marlene Adams Daryll Allen John Bark Stephanie Barrett Aeliot Blackwell Jacoba Deidert Alan Glover Jackson Family Roy Layug Thomas Linder Dale McCue Kate Merkowsky Tim Pearson Rob Rappel Mitch Ravvin Redg Saffel Randy and Carla Sedore Sandra Sprecker Jan Sproule Storry Family Daryl Striemer Bob Van Mastrigt Don Wenner 5
Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society DONORS Heather Anderson John & Janet Beattie Brian Beck Christopher Boughton Robert & Audrey Buzinski Gail Chudleigh Len Clayton Denis Cooney Jonathan Davidson David & Susan Day Laurie Dodds Thelma Fookes Lydia Freeman Shirley Gilbert Alan & Penelope Glover Steve Grover Marian Hay Helen Helwig Matthew & Carol Herasymiuk Gladine Herrera Kim Jones Georgina Leschinski Thomas Linder Margaret Mazurek Dale McCue Glad McCue Jack & Mary McLachlan Al & Judy Molnar Gerard Moyes Helen Myhre Amy Myroniuk D. Craig Natland Constance Olsen Priscilla Popilchak Miranda Ridley Bruce Ritchie Greg Rodin Neal & Gay Russell Doreen Sidjak Richard Slemp Mike & Anne Smith David & Shirley Spears James Stanford John & Peggy Van De Pol Mandy Weidinger Josefa Wolfe Bob Yoisten Alberta Brain Injury Initiatives Alberta Human Services Atco Pipelines Atco Structures & Logistics Aussie Rules Blakes BMO Financial Group Calaway Park Calgary Fire Executive Calgary Health Trust Calgary Italian Bakery Calgary Stampeders Canada Safeway (Whitehorn) Canadian Online Giving Foundation Cenovous Energy City of Calgary Property Tax Rebate Program Community Spirit Program Driving Force D.S. Rutherford Prof. Corp. Frank & Ellen Remai Foundation Grover & Company, Personal Injury Lawyers Hood Packaging Corporation John Slemp Memorial Jubilations Dinner Theatre Mary Kay Pipella Law Rodin Law Firm, Litigation Counsel The Keg Tim Horton's Community Cruiser United Way Toronto Region, Donor Choice Program United Way Peel Region, Donor Choice Program 6
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES
Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society BALANCE SHEET 8
9 Annual Report 2013 2014
Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society Mission Vision Values SABIS offers lifelong support and services for adults with acquired brain injury and their families. SABIS promotes open and inclusive communities for all persons, regardless of the severity of their brain injury. Respect Support Inclusion Learning Encouragement Travel along the road to recovery can be challenging. Your donation will make a difference in the lives of brain injury survivors and their families. Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society 102, 2116 27 Avenue, NE Calgary, AB T2E 7A6 Phone: 403-521-5212 Fax: 403-283-5867 10