My Nonprofit Reviews

Having worked as a rehabilitation counselor for people with catastrophic disabilities for more than 20 years, I have come to appreciate that the Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse is a true gem within the field of rehabilitation and community support for people with traumatic or acquired brain injuries. By providing a place for people with brain injuries to come daily to be productive, to share a laugh, to support each other, to learn from each other, and to teach each other, the Side by Side Clubhouse is unique in the way it makes its members feel "normal" and wanted and safe and valuable. So many of these characteristics easily get forgotten in someone who has a brain injury and is no longer the same person they were before the brain injury. The Side by Side helps its members to regain their sense of self and to move forward, with the support and love and care of the other members, its staff and volunteers, family members, and even the community. I have seen firsthand the good work of the Side by Side Clubhouse in helping members meet their needs and become productive and contributing members of society again. The Side by Side Clubhouse impressed me so much so that I chose to spend 4 years studying its program and outcomes and getting to know its members and staff in order to successfully conduct my dissertation research. But not wanting to disconnect my ties to the Clubhouse after my research was finished, I accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of Directors to further the good work of the Clubhouse and to ensure its future in providing quality, community supported, and real-world services to a much needed (and growing) population of people with brain injury. With over 1.7 million people each year in U.S. who get a traumatic brain injury, programs such as the Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse have a necessary and needed place in our community. Support to keep the Clubhouse vital and continuing is crucial and is where the most positive results will occur - to help someone like you or me who has received a brain injury to live as normal a life as possible.

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