Action for Brain Injury Week (ABI Week) takes place from 17 – 23 May 2021

Wear a silly hat, donate £2 and share a photo to help raise funds and awareness of brain injury!

To donate click here (PayPal) or here (JustGiving).

You can also donate through Facebook by clicking here

This years campaign is titled A life of lockdown? and aims to give a voice to brain injury survivors and carers, helping them to explain the isolation that many people experience due to the ongoing effects of brain injury and empower others to provide the support they need.

Here is an overview of the campaign theme and call-to-action:

• Covid-19 has been tough on everyone. Repeated lockdowns have left people isolated and lonely, often harming their mental wellbeing.
• But imagine living every day of your life in isolation
• The effects of brain injury, such as problems with memory, information processing, or speech, compounded by a lack of understanding of this often hidden disability, can leave survivors lacking the confidence to interact with society.
• Let someone know they are not alone. Reach out to help out.

As always, Hats for Headway Day will take place on the last Friday of Action for Brain Injury Week, which is 21 May. This is a great chance to have fun (something we all need this year!) while raising money to support Headway Cardiff & South East Wales. Simply ask your members to wear a hat for the day in return for a donation, then share a photo on social media using #HatsForHeadway.

Partnership with University of Sunderland

As part of the campaign and to help us better understand the impact of social isolation after brain injury, we’ve teamed up with researchers at the University of Sunderland. They are looking to interview brain injury survivors who are willing to talk about their experience through lockdown.

The interview will involve being asked questions about the survivor’s brain injury, their support network, socialising, loneliness and how lockdown has affected them. It will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams and is expected to last approximately 40 minutes. A Headway member, family or friends can be present during the interview.

If you are interested in taking part or would like further information, they can contact Dr Stephen Dunne at Stephen.Dunne@sunderland.ac.uk.