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This website was most recently updated on March 17, 2008.
A Call for National Standards
The Brain Injury Network, an organization operated for and by survivors of acquired brain injury, is calling for USA national and international standards for college level programs that serve people with acquired brain injuries. We suggest the implementation of numerous recommendations for college level brain injury programs. We also urge state governments to pass legislation that will make college personnel mandated reporters of criminal conduct against college students with acquired brain injuries and cognitive challenges. Please note the categories to the left. There are portals to specific sections regarding the public policy objectives of the Brain Injury Network under the topics "National Standards" , "Mandated Reporters" and "Program Recommendations". For a historical record, please click on "Cautionary Tale". We urge brain injury advocates and advocacy agencies to adopt our recommendations and work for laws, standards and procedures that will protect people with acquired brain injuries.
We operate two yahoo group forums to discuss public policy and advocacy for our community. Survivor Acquired Brain Injury (SABI) is for survivors only. FEASIBLE is for survivors, family caregivers and friends. We also operate the Acquired Brain Injury Requiring Assistance (ABIRA) forum, for survivors who need their caregiver to help them to be on the computer. Thus, ABIRA is open to survivors and caregivers. Additionally, we have created the Acquired Brain Injury and Youth (ABIANDY) forum to specifically address young people with abi.
ABOUT BIN
The Brain Injury Network (BIN) is an international and USA national association of persons who have sustained acquired brain injuries (ABI). The brain injuries are from traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, brain tumor, illness (such as encephalitis, meningitis, etc.) Other terms associated with survivors in this association include brain aneurysm, hypoxic/anoxic brain injury, cerebral hemorrhage, skull fracture, head trauma, brain trauma, coma, post-concussion syndrome and mild traumatic brain injury. We also wish to be in spirit with survivors with locked-in syndrome or in a persistent unaware state.The BIN is operated by educated survivors who have been through it. We network with each other to develop a consensus on issues of importance to the collective brain injury survivor community. We are promulgating our public policy platform which includes the "Call for National Standards" on state, national and international levels.
We have organized to be a voice for our community. We do so despite commentary from some service providers who think that they speak for us and that they know what is best for us. We appreciate the selfless dedication and expertise that most service providers offer to our community. However, our point of view does not always match their point of view.
We have learned over the years that when it comes to the issue of brain injury or people with brain injuries; caregivers, service providers agencies, and the public at large often speak from their own points of view and frames of reference first and our point of view second or even third. We, just like everybody else, have our views and we wish our views to be heard. Since there is a need for our voice for ourselves, we at the BIN endeavor to provide this voice. We speak out as best we can for ourselves individually and collectively.
We speak out as best we can for those of us who perhaps cannot speak out. It is our duty to speak out on issues of importance to our community and so we have done so since 1996. As a community, we expect service providers to operate programs with the highest standards, to act ethically, to be properly trained and to be accountable. If and when we uncover crime, dishonesty, misrepresentation, lies, or other conduct or programming that negatively impacts our community, we will talk about it. We, as an organized community, will not tolerate any kind of mistreatment of persons with acquired brain injuries. We insist on equal justice and fair play for our community.
We must be dogged and steadfast in our method, both in our personal recoveries and in our relationships with any service provider entities. If we see problems that have not been corrected, we will point them out, in perpetuity, until any problems we have noted have been corrected. This is another way that BIN serves and protects our brain injury community.
Many of us have great physical, motor, communicative, sensory, cognitive and other issues to deal with. But collectively we are strong and thus we work together to help each other and protect our community as a whole from any individual, service provider, agency, institution, or educational institution that has harmed or shows by intentional, reckless or negligent conduct a propensity to harm any one of our number.
On a local level, we are a survivor-driven support agency that operates in Northern California. We facilitate meetings and offer emotional support. We provide information and referral services, advocate on behalf of survivors and watchdog in our community to help insure that people with brain injuries are not victimized.
As individuals within the organization, we also benefit from the friendly, healing, happy environment we endeavor to maintain at our meetings and within our organization. Substance abuse, profanity, illegal conduct, acting out behaviors, or hateful conduct are not permitted or tolerated at meetings. So in the spirit of cooperation and affinity, friendships have formed, and many good times have been had. It is in this spirit of good will that we attempt to help each other deal with brain injury, its aftermath, our recoveries, and our changed lives.
BIN Additional Information
Description: This survivor-led and operated, self-help agency, is a peer support, information and referral, watchdog, and advocacy agency serving people who have sustained acquired brain injuries (abi) from traumatic brain injury (tbi), stroke, tumor and illness. Our Board of Directors consists of persons who have sustained acquired brain injuries who wish to serve our community and speak out to protect our community. BIN (formerly nicknamed BINSCI) operates from Sonoma County, California, USA.
Mission: The purpose of BIN is to engage in activities that promote the best interests of individuals with acquired brain injuries and assist individuals with acquired brain injuries, their families and service providers, maximize the recovery of persons with acquired brain injuries. Activities include, but are not limited to, education, emotional support and recreation for persons with acquired brain injuries; advocacy on behalf of persons with acquired brain injuries; education of the public to foster awareness about acquired brain injuries and to prevent acquired brain injuries.
Contact: Sue Hultberg, MA and JD, Executive Director
BIN Advocacy: People with brain injuries all over this entire globe need advocacy. Therefore, our advocacy interests extend world-wide. We must attempt to exert influence, in association and in cooperation with other survivors, world-wide. There are international, national, state and local concerns. Our primary focus, though, is in the United States of America, and in California, USA.
BIN "Local" Service Area: Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties. We also provide referral services to additional Northern California counties including Humboldt, Shasta, Solano, Napa and Marin.
Access: We hold meetings at accessible locales. We are unable to provide caregiver/aide services, for example, to assist a person to access restroom facilities.
Application Procedure: For telephone intake please call (707) 544-4323. For e-mail intake, please contact survivors@braininjurynetwork.org
Programs:
Peer Support: We facilitate meetings for survivors and caregivers to exchange ideas, discuss strategies, and socialize. We hold monthly Dinner Night Out, Brunch or Lunch, and Afternoon Coffee.
Caregiver Support: We have meetings for caregivers.
Youth Education: We hold youth education meetings.
Advocacy: We advocate for the brain injury community on issues of importance to our community. We speak out for equal justice and fair practices for people with brain injury related disabilities.
Information and Referral: We maintain a telephone help-line at (707) 544-4323. This information line is available for survivors, caregivers and service providers seeking information about various topics of importance to the brain injury community.
Funding:
The BIN is a charitable organization mostly funded by donations, but also by modest membership fees.
There are also quite a few ways that one may support BIN without paying out any actual donation money. We are in many community programs where stores, restaurants, hotels, merchants, etc. make donations to charities in the name of their customers. If you want to "shop for BIN" please call and we will enroll you. It's the no funds out (of your pocket) and hardly any fuss(for you) way to help us! Please click on the donate button on the left for more information. Thank you.
The BIN is an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization and BIN is a nonprofit corporation registered in California. Donations to BIN may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax adviser. Any donations to assist BIN to continue our mission will be gratefully accepted by BIN at PO Box 9217, Santa Rosa, California, 95405.
