Who we are
Side by Side is the only work-oriented day program in Georgia that specifically supports adults with brain injuries - and their families - for as long as they choose. With help from Atlanta’s Shepherd Center and Emory University to get us started, we have been partnering with people on their goals toward self-sufficiency for over two decades.
We are a unique community-based program where our interdisciplinary team of brain injury specialists work interdependently with participants in all that we do.
What we do
Since 2000, Side by Side has provided a supportive environment where adults suffering from brain injuries can redevelop social and work-related skills at their own pace in a meaningful, productive way.
People with brain injuries come from every walk of life – a business executive, a teacher, an athlete, or a returning veteran. After they come home from the hospital, they face a big unknown: “Will I need non-stop caregiving from my family? Will I be able to work again? Will I have friends, colleagues and live a productive life?” Side by Side answers these unknowns for hundreds of people in Georgia’s brain injury community.
We need your help
In Georgia alone, about 65,000 new brain injuries occur each year - yet only 20% of people impacted are able to access long-term support services due largely to a lack of awareness in the community and their families ability to pay after long hospital stays and intensive outpatient therapy.
You can help give more local families access to brain injury services regardless of their ability to pay by donating and/or volunteering. We have a wonderful donor community of companies, foundations and families across Atlanta who want to support our member’s path to independence. You can also give your time providing peer-support during our day program or social events. If you are a student, we even partner with Georgia State and Brenau University to train future Rehabilitation Counselors and Occupational Therapists. Your gifts help make Side by Side stronger.
Brain Injury Research Brief
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that the number of people living with permanent disability from brain injury grows annually as medical technology has advanced in life-saving techniques. However, community-based programs which enable brain injury survivors to live productive lives throughout the entire course of recovery have not grown proportionately to meet this need. Brain Injury Clubhouses were developed to address the need for coordinated, long-term, community-based supports for brain survivors in a community-based setting.
The brief is designed to provide funders, administrators, policy makers, and other stakeholders with an overview of Brain Injury Clubhouses. It also provides outcomes associated with participation in a Brain Injury Clubhouse from a recent research study to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of Brain Injury Clubhouses.