The Need

Building a Bridge

It can happen to anyone and out of nowhere: an out-of-control car, a slippery sidewalk, an accident on the playing field. It takes but an instant for a person’s whole world to be turned inside out by brain injury.

According to the Brain Injury Association of America an estimated 5.3 million Americans currently live with disabilities resulting from traumatic brain injury. Every year, 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury of different severity, which is one injury every 23 seconds. These numbers include women and men injured while serving in the US Armed Forces.

The brain-injury survivor can go from being an independent, successful adult with responsibilities as a parent or provider to someone totally dependent on the very same people he used to support. Personality, relationships, cognitive skills, and mobility may all be affected. The unique challenge that arises from neurological trauma lies in the sudden and unforeseen changes to one’s identity and circumstance. Survivors are different than they used to be and they know it.

Dave and his mother Johanna

“Ready to move out of our home, Dave looked at the options. Most assisted-living facilities felt institutional and were expensive. Then we toured Building a Bridge homes. We saw lovely family neighborhoods: trees, flowers, walkers, children, and pets. Six and a half years later Dave thrives in the Bridge environment, living with all the independence he can handle and receiving all the support he needs.”

-Johanna, Mother of brain-injury survivor

“Early optimism and momentum give way to a realization of the catastrophic nature of the event-and the understanding that you are now relating to a wholly different person.”

-Ethna, Wife of brain-injury survivor

Community-based alternatives have long been a priority for institutional programs in mental health, mental retardation, substance abuse, justice, aging, and convalescence. Persons with acquired brain injury however are still on the periphery of the aforementioned services. The astronomical costs for care, the toll on the lives of the families, be it emotional or financial, surmounts all expectations. Past the acute care lies uncertainty, and, most of all, the quickly realized need for long-term care. Nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, and group homes are, if available and affordable, an option, but often fall short of a life that can be lived with happiness and dignity. The survivors need a program that addresses their distinct cognitive, behavioral, and emotional disorders. We are proud that The Bridge is recognized as a model for residential community living for people with traumatic brain injury.