Events and Updates


Join us at our December 12th monthly meeting led by

Diana Bluthenthal ~survivor, care-giver to three other brain injury survivors, and inspiration to us all

to present and discuss

Relax, reflect, and appreciate

Taking time to relax, reflect, and appreciate after the holidays can help you recharge and start the new year feeling rejuvenated.

.

Register for the meeting using the button below and let us know you would like to attend the December 12th group

Register


Our January 9th monthly meeting will led by

Jennifer Soames former holistic health practioner, author, and brain injury advocate

to facilitate our session on

Mindfulness for All Minds: Tips & Tricks to Improve Your Quality of Life

The stress and chaos of the Holidays are done, a new year is here. You're invited to start off 2025 by learning or refreshing your knowledge of simple mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and anxiety, increase concentration and problem solving, create healthier habits, and improve your quality of life. Whether you're new to mindfulness concepts and practices (even if you're resistant to them), or a seasoned veteran, you'll come away with tools you can use everyday that are free and accessible to you at any time.

.

Register for the meeting using the button below and let us know you would like to attend the January 9th group

Register


Introducing our Brain Injury Survivor Wellness-Quality of Life survey

A stipulation of our grants is we are to provide evidence every quarter that our groups improve the quality of life for brain injury survivors. We have identified that utilizing self-reported quality-of-life surveys is the ideal mechanism to capture the required evidence. Only brain injury survivors should participate in this wellness survey.

To conduct this survey, we are using EmailMeForm (EMF) due to their HIPAA Compliance. EmailMeForm will tally and report the survey results. The quarterly results will be available on our website toward the end of March.

By completing this anonymous survey, you are supporting Kitsap Brain Injury. To show our appreciation for completing the quarterly survey, we will send you a gift. This quarter's gift is a purple long sleeve shirt with artwork by Diana Doodles. Diana is a brain injury survivor and attened our groups in the past.

Take the Survey


Our "Meet Survivors where there are" outreach campaign has begun

This campaign is intended to get people the information when they urgently need it

Our "Meet Survivors where there are" community outreach plan is to mail three of our support group postcards to every medical and mental health care provider in Kitsap, Clallam, and Jefferson Counties.

If you are a provider who received a postcard and would like to support our efforts, please contact us using the button below

Send Email

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the Suquamish Tribe and Suquamish Foundation


2023 In A Nutshell

It was a long year for us with many learning lessons. On January 25th - We received our approved 501c3 determination letter and registered as a charity in Washington State. During February, we tallied the board member votes for authorized signers for our bank account which was opened in March. In the summer we sought 2024 funding and completed our application for the Kitsap County Consolidated Grant and the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Mission grant. In the fall, we completed our 2024 Community Outreach Plan and 2024 Regional Industry and Consumer Analysis. Finally, in December we found that we successfully attained funding from the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health mission grant and the Kitsap County 1/10th of 1% Mental Health, Chemical Dependency, and Therapeutic Courts grant/contract. We have come from originating a 501c3 in January 2023 to having an operating budget of $19,050.23 for 2024-2025. This funding is to begin paying our facilitator's stipends, conducting our “Meet Survivors Where They Are” outreach campaign, and to begin doing hybrid meetings. Now this isn’t a lot of funding, and it is almost all accounted for, but it is a start. What these funds signify is us building our credibility as an organization that is financially transparent and a good steward of financial support.

Although, we have made some headway I still consider us to be in our founding stage. In 2025 we are planning on acquiring enough funding to pay a full-time brain injury facilitator, an operations manager, pay the executive director, and possibly rent a physical space.

A special thanks go to everyone who helped with the formalization process

Thank you for your patience and we hope to see everybody soon!

Online Groups


Create your own healing sanctuary

Start small and you will be surprised by the calming and healing effects

I normally start with Miracle Grow garden soil and plant starters

Remember to set up a watering routine

If you want a simple gardening guide check out the following website.

Want a Garden? 7 Easy Ways to Start for Non-Gardeners

Go to external site

Occupational Therapy Gardening Ideas for Adults (& Kids)

Gardening tips

Do you have better gardening links? Send them to us using the contact us page and we may share them with everyone


Online Support Groups

We are pleased to announce that we will continue to offer two online support offerings in 2024.

The Monthly Support Group and the new TBI Koffee Klatch

Our monthly support groups meets on the second Thursday of the month at 1:00 PM-2:30 PM

The Koffee Klatch meets every Monday at 10 AM

For more information please visit the online groups page

Online Groups

Brain Injury Today Podcast

The podcast is produced in collaboration with Goal 17 Media.

The BIAWA produces a podcast series for brain injury survivors. The series includes several great topics. Brain Injury Today is the official podcast of the Brain Injury Alliance of Washington

Podcast Website

Giving the gift of warmth

Research conducted by the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) has identified that approximately one out of every two homeless people are brain injury survivors.

As the weather is getting harsher and temperatures are colder, our brain injury survivors want to help. We have identified the best way to do that is through donating blankets. Coats, etc. to local area community organizations.

We have identified these organization for you to safely donate and spead warmth this winter