Learning to live independently
Michael Lamour says Niagara has welcomed him with open arms and he’s forever grateful.
“Niagara Falls is a lovely area,” he said with a smile.
Lamour has been a resident in a transitional home operated by Brain Injury Community Re-Entry of Niagara and the Niagara branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association since January.
Lamour, who suffered a brain injury after he was struck by a van as a child, said there were no services to assist him in the northern Ontario community where he lived and he had to look to Niagara for help.
“This program has been very successful for me,” he said Tuesday. “It has opened some doors for me.”
Today, he has a job and even organizes an activity program for fellow residents at the home on St. Paul Avenue.
The north end property has undergone a number of renovations this year after the CMHA partnered with the Brain Injury Association to offer the new residential treatment program.
Clients stay at the home from one to two years. The goal is to provide support services so that clients can regain their independence.
The home provides support 24 hoursaday,sevendaysaweekandparticipant develop their own rehabilitation goals with the assistance from the case facilitator and rehabilitation counselors.
All programs and scheduled activities are created based on the participant’s needs and interests.
“Thisisatransitionallivingenvironment,” said Frank Greco, CEO of the Brain Injury Community Re-Entry.
“They receive the life skills necessary to go back and live independently in their own communities.”
There are currently five residents at the home and there’s already a waiting list.
Brain Injury Community Re-Entry, a non-profit organization, receives funding through a variety of sources including the Local Health Integration Network, the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and private donations.
Recently, Youngs Insurance Brokers hosted a golf tournament and raised more than $20,000 for the agency.
The funds will be used to assist in the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible van.
GeorgeKurzawa,executivedirector of the Niagara branch of the CMHA, said the partnership between BICR and the CMHA simply made sense.
“We consider this partnership to be part of an emerging best practice for serving this population,” he said. “We know that the needs are complex and that our organizations can best support this group by bringing together respective strengths.”