The Northern Brain Injury Association has received a grant from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
The Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Crime Remediation grant totals $75,000 to improve the management and treatment of incarcerated people living with brain injury after release.
NBIA will fund its Crime and Addiction Reduction Education Services (CARES) program with the money. It addresses the needs of survivors trapped in the justice system. NBIA Community Coordinator Ryan Challen explains the program, which will run through this fiscal year and beyond if proper funding is provided.
“What we’re looking at doing is having a program where individuals who are released into the community have a support program in place with qualified individuals, case managers, and community facilitators to basically reduce recidivism and to provide education supports for their brain injury and also for substance abuse issues relating to brain injury.”
People who are released into northern communities with little-to-no services will benefit the most, as this program directly targets them.
“The individuals who we serve in several communities will have one-on-one case managers to help them reintegrate back into the communities in a safe, stable way.”
NBIA serves a large portion of northern BC including communities in the Cariboo, Vanderhoof, and Fort St. John, however the Bulkley Valley and Prince George areas are covered by other brain injury support groups.