- North Shore Brain Injury Survivors Support Group is held on the fourth Thursday of every month. Next meeting: Thursday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m. at Lions Gate Hospital, North Vancouver. nsadvocacy.ca
Richard Wagar is dedicated to changing the way brain injury survivors are treated.
A survivor himself, the 65-year-old North Vancouver resident experienced a workplace accident in 2007.
His injury was exacerbated by previous concussions - the result of two car accidents, and due to a climbing accident. Through his recovery, Wagar (a counsellor and hynotherapist), gained firsthand experience with local agencies and professionals effectively serving those with brain injuries, as well as the importance of sticking with recovery programs.
To ensure others take advantage of the help that exists and don't slip through the cracks, Wagar launched the North Shore Advocacy Group, a nonprofit organization serving brain injury survivors, in November 2014. Services are free and include working one-on-one with survivors to help connect them with local resources, as well as being a voice for them in the community.
"Any kind of a trauma, you're going to be confused and excited, and that's pretty normal," says Wagar. "That confused state will easily last at least a few days after the trauma so you're not in real good shape to deal with opportunities to work around or through or with people who may contribute to your recovery. With brain injury that trauma doesn't go away because. ... a part of your brain isn't working anymore." "One of the things to do is give them an advocate who will be their advocate, period.. .. It doesn't matter if they're having a problem with their neighbour or anything else, because they're brain injury survivors and they need an advocate basically to interpret for them," he adds.
During the development of the organization, Wagar and co-founder Jennifer Bonderoff, a Vancouver resident who has a PhD in molecular biology, realized the North Shore could benefit from a support group. So, their inaugural North Shore Brain Injury Survivors Support Group meeting, serving adult survivors and caregivers, was held Jan. 22. The turnout was strong. "We had to bring in extra seats," says Wagar.
Wagar hopes the organization helps prevent isolation and offers members a place among their peers where they can feel understood, as well as offer them a means of contributing positively to the lives of others and their community.
"We're like a surfboard," says Wagar. "They're out there drowning and all of a sudden there's a surfboard. We're not the answer, but we're a chance to be the answer and in many cases we can become the answer for them if they choose to participate."
