On 13th November, we hosted a pre-election networking event at our Wexford Clubhouse to promote our campaign, ‘Fight For Our Lives’. The purpose of this event was to meet with local election candidates ahead of the General Election and encourage them to prioritise funding for long-term rehabilitation for brain injury survivors.

Several politicians were in attendance and it was a great opportunity to share our concerns about the lack of funding for people living with a brain injury. Brain injury survivor, Tommy Nolan bravely shared his story, discussing life after his brain injury and highlighting the gaps in neuro-rehabilitation services in Ireland. Tommy was in complete shock when he found out he had a brain injury:

Family member, Louise also spoke about the impact a brain injury had on her sister, who was 17 when she acquired her brain injury. Louise’s sister ended up in a nursing home for three years, and likely would’ve stayed there longer if a place hadn’t become available in our Assisted Living service.

To raise awareness of the impact of a brain injury on the day, our Wexford Clubhouse members created a powerful artwork piece, featuring individual designs from each member, symbolising the challenges they have experienced. There were 52 designs altogether, representing the 52 brain injuries acquired in Ireland every day. We would like to say a huge well done and thank you to everyone involved in the event. This event was a great success and fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of our campaign and the life-changing work that we do.