Easterseals MA released their 2022 Annual Report, showcasing the impressive impact of their programs and services. Also featured, were several inspiring stories from clients who have benefitted from their relationship.
Chris Richards was one of the clients.
Chris Richards was promoted to Director of Programming and Development for the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust. Prior to the move, Mr. Richards had served as a grant writer for the organization, working in a part-time role. In his new position, he will continue to lead all grant writing activities, while also being responsible for the success of the sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty programs. He will report directly to Chief Sequan Pijaki, Chairman of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation.
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, which seems timely as brain injuries have been the topic of too many recent conversations, posts, and text messages among my social circles. Two friends in their early fifties suffered strokes over the winter and my mother was in a car accident last summer, resulting in a concussion, followed by a stroke, followed by another stroke, followed by a mini-stroke.
Learning about each incident felt like a sledgehammer to the solar plexus. Then a week, month, six months of holding my breath, wondering about the recovery. Because there’s nothing quite like a brain injury with its distressing myriad of symptoms. The patient can survive, but their memories and perceptions may not, their connections may not. In some cases, the injury can result in a complete loss without a physical death.
The CDC estimates that over three million brain injuries happen every year in the United States. Of those, most are caused by trauma (TBI), such as falls, motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, and assaults. But other types—strokes, tumors, and disease—are prevalent too, especially in the elderly. This has left an estimated five million Americans with some type of brain injury related disability and I suspect these numbers will increase as the Baby Boomers enter the later stages of life.
Although there’s no cure for brain injury (yet), we’re getting better as a society in improving the patient’s quality of life. The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has played a major role in this. Founded in 1994 by a small group of the mothers of TBI patients, BIAA has grown into the nation’s largest brain injury advocacy and support nonprofit. The organization’s mission is to advance awareness, research, treatment, and education and to improve the quality of life for all people affected by brain injury. Services include organizing support groups, educating families and caregivers, and advocating federal and state governments for clinical funding.
So if you know one of the five million Americans struggling with a brain injury, please consider checking out the BIA chapter in your area (https://www.biausa.org/find-bia). Read a little bit on their website. See the different ways they’re supporting your community. Maybe even attend a conference or fundraiser. But make sure your friend or family member knows that help is out there.
Chris Richards is a story that unpacks so many of the modern elements of disability employment in Massachusetts. Chris’s story touches on the importance of Easterseals services for people with acquired disabilities, the growth of job opportunities via telecommuting and assistive technology, finding new passions in response to disability (creative writing), and finally the catch 22 of receiving disability benefits and competitive employment.
Chris was interviewed by Patti Freeman Evans for Life Over Pain, an NYC based podcast full of inspiring stories from people with chronic pain and/or traumatic brain injury.
Stories focus on how people are not defined by their pain or injury and describe how choices to adapt to present circumstances can create lives of value despite significant loss.
When Chris Richards was injured, he was left more than just chronic hip and back pain, he was left with a disability that stood in the way of his opportunity to continue working.
In response to his new situation, Chris designed a sit/stand station in his home office, which he found to be better than just sitting, but not perfect. Then, while undergoing vocational rehabilitation services with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commision (MRC), he learned about the Assistive Technology Program here at Easterseals MA.