Lindsay the Intern: Fall Term

After a long and much needed break from the grind of life as a working college student, I am back and ready to dive into the exciting happenings going on at ShelterCare. I am sure you have heard (if you haven’t I am not doing my job) about our latest and greatest event: Jack-O-Lanterns on 5^th. This event is truly inspiring because it is community-oriented, philanthropic, and fun. I have to say that I am personally extremely excited about this event because it combines two of my favorite things: Halloween and helping. If you typically cannot afford to support causes you are passionate about, this is the event for you. It only costs two dollars to enter a pumpkin into what is to be the biggest pumpkin display in Oregon! I hope to see you all at the 5^th street Public Market on October 24^th, for what is sure to be an amazing time.

Aside from my work with development, I am also working on my senior project at the Uhlhorn Program, ShelterCare’s program for people with Acquired Brain Injuries. My project consists of building and implementing a strengths-based life skills curriculum. This week, we started classes despite my overwhelming nerves. I have never taught anything and I was apprehensive about my abilities to lead a class. I think that the fact that I am teaching to people who are older than I am has added to that anxiety because I don’t want to condescend or offend any of my students. Thankfully most of my fears were put to rest after this week. Uhlhorn has such an amazing and helpful group of residents that I felt at ease when standing before them. Together we made our way through the confusing world of nutrition and learned to cook a healthy meal. It was a great experience and I look forward to future weeks and topics to be covered.

I am glad to be back and will keep you all posted on the progress of my class and ShelterCares cool events!

Lindsay the Intern: Week Five

This week has been a struggle for me. Not because I am doing something I don’t want to do, and not because there have been any particularly difficult challenges in my wake. This week has been hard because I have had time to reflect and I have come to the realization that I am pretty much, by all accounts, an adult. When did this happen?

I drink coffee every morning. Instead of worrying about the weekend while skipping off to school, I contemplate bills while driving to the office. Sure, I spend time socializing and acting upon what is left of my immaturity, but I cant help but feel a little to close to the top of the hill for my age. It got me thinking, do I accept this? Does everyone reach a point in there lives when they look around and find themselves trapped in routine? I would assume so. I would also assume that there are far more difficult realities to come to terms with.

When I feel as though I am in a rut, all it takes is a little perspective to appreciate the things I have and the comfort and safety that embellishes my routine. My project proposal has given me the opportunity to research the population I will be working with this fall. People with acquired brain injuries each have a unique story to tell. I have found that it is hard to generalize just exactly what an acquired brain injury entails. However, one thing that every person goes through when they acquire a brain injury is a drastic change in routine and reality. For many, tasks that were once done without thought now require assistance and aid. That once comfortable and somewhat mundane routine becomes a distant goal to reach. I imagine it’s a lot like sliding back down the proverbial hill, losing tools from your belt and things from your pockets and turning around to climb back up only to find the hill is now made of ice.

When I think about getting to this point in my life, I realize that it would be incredibly difficult to live it all over again without the knowledge I have gained throughout. My reflection has given me new insight into the real struggle that people with acquired brain injuries must face, while renewing my sense of purpose and giving me a more accurate perception of my own growth. No one should feel badly for questioning their place in life, but it is always good to take it a step further and think of the positive aspects and remember that everyone struggles in one capacity or another.

Links

Objects In Cyberspace:

Attention aspiring film makers: Nike and The Homeless World Cup are offering a $50,000 fund to produce a short film (5 minutes, no more than 10 minutes) capturing the Spirit, Unity, Victory of the Milan 2009 Homeless World Cup, which will be held 6-13 September 2009. For more information on the Homeless World Cup, check out this link.

The Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts hosted a very successful brain injury awareness walk/run. The 2nd annual Walk for Wishes Begun attracted hundreds of participants and helped raise awareness for an all-too-common issue. Along the same lines, ShelterCare will soon be hosting its 1st annual Summit Challenge run/walk. If you haven't already done so, please check out www.sheltercareevents.com.

Here is what Dear Abby has to say about a woman who is haunted by her initial reaction to the discovery an old friend is now homeless.

A Seattle suburb was found by the state Supreme Court to have violated the state constitution by using a temporary ban on development to block a church's effort to set up a tent city for the homeless.

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Lindsay the Intern: Week Three

In class, we have been discussing how to propose our senior projects in a way that would compel our superiors to support and join in our efforts.  The idea of teaching a life skills class to any population seems necessary. We could all brush up on some aspect of life. For some, learning to do taxes might be a skill worth developing. For others, the proper flossing techniques may have eluded them in the past. Defining life skills is an important piece when arguing for its validity, however, it is such a broad concept that it has become difficult to explain.

            Recently, I had the opportunity to present the idea for the class to the residents. I stoop up, puffed my chest out, and put on a “you’re all going to love me” smile. “Hi, my name is Lindsay and I will be teaching a Life Skills class here this fall”. Without hesitation, or pity, a women jutted, “oh yeah, and what are life skills?”  My intelligent well thought out response? “Like nutrition…”

            Clearly, I was not prepared for the question to be asked, not by a resident, not by anyone really. For the sake of sanity, I decided that life skills should be defined in terms of the population being addressed. People with brain injuries must be similar right? They probably all need to learn the same things. Wrong. In fact, the only thing linking people with brain injuries together is the fact that they have brain injuries. That is it. So how then, can I break down the massive category of life skills in order to appropriately capture the Uhlhorn residents? The answer is really pretty simple; ask them! Life skills are simply tools and rules needed to live independently and successfully in the world. After that, the definition extends to what the people in question want to know. The next phase of my project will be to gather information from the residents so that I can create a curriculum of life skills that fits their needs and moves them towards independence.

Thursday's Ready-For-The-Weekend Link List

-A makeshift tent city populated by Sacramento's homeless will be shut down within a month. In order to accommodate the 125 residents of the tent city , California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger has ordered that the state facility known as the Cal-Expo at the state fairgrounds be used to serve them for three months. For more information on the Hoovervilles of our era, check out this article in the New York Times.

-Right or Wrong?-cnn.com has a story about the controversial site pimpthisbum.com. The site, the brainchild of father/son duo Kevin and Sean Dolan has raised $50,000 in donations and pledges for a homeless man from Houston named Timothy Edwards. Edwards, upon the Dolan's request, simply added the url to the cardboard sign he normally used while panhandling to attract visitors to the site. Many responded by flocking to the site. Many advocates for the homeless are questioning the usage of such a controversial url address, but the Dolans defend their choice on the grounds that a nicer, more sincere sounding alternative (say, helpthehomeless.com) would never have attracted so many visitors. 

The tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson last week has raised awareness about traumatic brain injury. This website has information about how to identify symptoms in young children. 

The Huffington Post has a piece by Maria Foscarinis called "Invest to End Homelessness."

Thursday's Ready-For-The-Weekend Link List

-The tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson after what was described by many as a minor fall on a beginners' ski slope this week shows us that we need to be vigilant when it comes to a head injury. Even those that seem like nothing initially. 

-Michael V. Kaplan over on the Brain Injury Blog has a must-read post on the myths of traumatic brain injury.

-Here's a short story about one veteran's experience with a service-related brain injury.

-Dottie Ardell, the mother of a son with a brain injury will hold her 4th annual Brain Injury Awareness Day this Saturday in Butler, PA.

Did You Know?

-During a press conference on March 4, 2009, Brig. General Loree Sutton estimated that up to 360,000 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may have sustained traumatic brain injuries during service. 

-Many of these brain injuries are what is known as Blast-Induced Neurotraumas (BINT) from modern explosive devices. These injuries can occur despite little damage to the external skull. 

-For an interesting description of BINT, please see this article from the Johns Hopkins University.

Lindsay the Intern: Final Musings

(This Friday, our Intern is moving on to the next page on her journey through school. We will miss her dearly. This is her final post of the term.)

This last week, I had the opportunity to accompany Carla to the Uhlhorn Program. For those of you who do not know, Uhlhorn was established to provide semi-independent living for people who have acquired traumatic brain injuries. While there, we had the chance to interview one of the residents. 

She was able to shatter many stereotypes I had within a matter of minutes.

Coming from an uninformed point of view, I had always assumed that if your brain was damaged beyond repair, so was your personality and everything that made you, you. Well, that is simply not the case. In fact, she had more personality than many I know. Her vibrant and articulate ways of describing her own situation enlightened me. Which brings me to another stereotype I had: people with traumatic brain injuries are not self-aware. This could not be more false in her case. She could recall herself before, during and after the trauma. Her insight into her own abilities and growth were quite amazing. She did emphasize that every brain injury is unique and brings its own changes in varying degrees. 

While at Uhlhorn, I also learned that it is the only program of its kind in Oregon. This bothers me because it has proven to be so successful in Eugene. Why wouldn't other area adopt a successful program in order to better serve vulnerable populations? Like I have said before, I was unaware of traumatic brain injury as a risk for homelessness. I was also unaware of Uhlhorn until my internship at ShelterCare. I know I have stressed this repeatedly, but getting the word out is half the battle.

Sadly, this will be my last blog entry for awhile. I plan on going forward on my career path and looking for ways to incorporate my new knowledge into future jobs and internships, but I also plan on taking opportunities to stop and educate people along the way. Whether they have a misconception of homelessness, or they are homeless and need information, I will do my best to lead them on the right path. I always try to put myself in other peoples' shoes. Now I know what it is like to be uninformed and will do my best to be patient and unbiased. I don't know what it is like to be homeless, but I have new insight that will help me be more compassionate to those who are. I hope my blog has given you some of that knowledge and insight for your own use.  

Did You Know?

-This week we are continuing on with Brain Injury Awareness Month. A brain injury can be mild, moderate or severe. In the case of ShelterCare's consumers affected by brain injuries, the injuries tend towards the severe end of the spectrum. Mild brain injuries are much more common and are most often referred to as concussions. The effects of concussions are generally not permanent. However, repeated concussions experienced over time, or receiving a subsequent blow to the head before a concussion has a chance to fully heal, can result in devastating permanent damage to the brain. 

-As a mild brain injury, a concussion is often hard to detect, unlike a banged up knee or broken hand. It is essentially an injury you cannot see. Since the brain is so very complex, every brain injury is different, and some can be extremely subtle. There are some common symptoms however. These include confusion and temporary amnesia. Sometimes, a person may "black out". A person may experience a headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, or slurred speech. Sometimes there is a delayed onset of symptoms that can occur days or weeks after the initial injury. Delayed symptoms can be dramatic mood changes or cognitive and sleep disturbances. 

-While most concussions resolve themselves in time, it is important that they are addressed so that they don't become more serious. If you or those close to you experience the symptoms of a concussion, it is best to take the time to be evaluated and rest up before embarking in activities that are at elevated risk for further head trauma.

Thursday's Ready-For-The-Weekend Link List

In the spirit of Brain Injury Awareness Month, here are some brain injury-related links to peruse.

-As many as 360,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans may have suffered brain injuries. Of these, 45,000-90,000 veterans' injuries have persistent symptoms that warrant specialized care. 

-Here's some good employment news in an otherwise dim job market: 22 new employees will be hired in Carthage, NY.  The new employees will staff a 24 hour facility for rehabilitation services for people with brain injuries. 

-Brian Scalabrine of the Boston Celtics is out indefinitely due to a second concussion experienced in a recent game. A concussion is a mild brain injury. Although most heal on their own, experiencing a subsequent concussion while the first is still healing can result in more permanent damage. 

Here is an inspiring story about the recovery progress of Rudy Sotomayor (a star amongst makeup artists) from a brain injury he sustained in a 2007 after a car hit him in a crosswalk. 

Did You Know?

-March is  Brain Injury Awareness Month. 

-Each year, 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. Of these, 1.1 million are treated and released from ERs, 235,00o are hospitalized, and 50,000 die from their injuries. (Source: Centers for Disease Control). 

-Brain injury can be caused by any number of traumatic incidents that affect a person's brain. Some causes include airway obstruction, electric shock, direct trauma to the head (e.g. sports injuries or bicycle accidents), heart attack, stroke, and toxic exposures. No two brain injuries are exactly alike.

-Wear your helmet: something as simple as proper use of a bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of brain injury by as much as 88%. (Source: Palo Alto Medical Foundation)

Lindsay the Intern: Week Seven Musings

Of all of the valuable facts and startling statistics I have learned while at ShelterCare, I am still astonished by the correlation between traumatic brain injury and homelessness. It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Losing certain functions of the brain would cause a dramatic shift in one's ability to survive independently. So why the, when I rattle off this information in conversation, is it so surprising to everyone? I guess the reason it never crossed my mind is because a brain injury can look like a mental illness on the surface. Maybe some of the people we see on the streets aren't really "lazy" or "crazy" (as someone who doesn't read my blog entries might say), maybe they were just like you or me, working in an office, studying for a big test when BAM! Life dealt cards they weren't gambling on. I imagine no one places bets on cards like that. 

I have never know someone to suffer such a tragedy, but I have read an amazing book chronicling a woman's account of her husband's traumatic brain injury. If you ever have time for  a quick, eye opening, well-written read, you should check out Where is the Mango Princess? by Cathy Crimmins. Upon reading, you will see that the effects of brain injury extend far beyond the individual. 

The one missing link for me, especially after reading this book about how a family supported a man with a traumatic brain injury, is where does that support go for those on the streets? I suppose it depends on the stage of life when the brain injury is acquired and the willingness of your loved ones to shelter and support you. Either way, if there is nowhere to turn, there is still ShelterCare. They currently have two programs (Uhlhorn and RiverKourt) that cater specifically to those with acquired brain injuries. Whether there is a possibility of rehabilitation and independence, or a need for long-term supportive environment, there is a place to stay. I wonder if there are any other agencies out there that meet this need. Feel free to teach me something!

Thursday's Ready-For-The-Weekend Link List

Image: freedigitalphotos.net)

Here are some interesting links from elsewhere in cyberspace that may be of interest:

-St. Martin's Hospitality Center, in Albuquerque, NM is conducting a "Street Retreat", during which volunteers will experience what it's like to be homeless for a few days in late January. It's one of several such events that have cropped up in cities across the nation in recent years. 

-Here's an interesting article explaining how blast pressure (generated when weapons are fired) may cause brain injury.

-The December unemployment numbers for the state of Oregon are in, and the news is not so good.

-The economic downturn and punitive welfare policies are exacerbating the issue of homelessness for our friends Down Under. 

-NYC begins to make progress on the dual diagnosis front.