About Headway

Headway Gauteng, was started in 1995 and is a fully registered welfare organisation dedicated to offering various support programme's to survivors of Acquired Brain Injury, including Traumatic Brain Injury.

Headway presently has two branches - our main branch in Hyde Park and our outreach branch (Khomelela) in Alexandra. Our aim is to eventually have satellite groups in all the main centres, as soon as funding permits. With no assistance from the government, all our funding initiatives are from private or corporate donations instigated from within our small organisation.

The following services are provided -

• A family support group consisting of hundreds of families from a diverse range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Each family has someone dear to them living with a brain injury.
• A lay counseling service and a small telephone call centre which provides one-on-one counseling to families.
• A holistic fully inclusive activity/therapy day programme at both our branches which provides our injured members with a structured, productive day where stimulating and enjoyable activities and social skills can be practiced, under the supervision of fully trained therapists, ably assisted by a team of volunteers from the community. We are recognised as a training institution by both the Occupational and Speech Therapy Departments at Wits University who use our facility as a practical site for their students. Headway is also affiliated to the Wits Health Consortium for continued professional development for therapists.

Complementary services offered by Headway include:

TBI booklets and leaflets in all major emergency wards ~ social get-togethers for families ~ a monthly newsletter ~ a small lending library ~ home and hospital visits ~ referrals for legal advice on how to approach the Road Accident Fund ~ advice on additional/other therapies.

The Activity Centre
The activity centre is open Monday to Friday with each day offering a full, multidisciplinary group therapy programme. Headway is not a rehabilitation centre but everything that we do is therapeutic in nature with a focus on constructive, productive activities that encourage interaction and independence. The activity programme is run by a team of skilled therapists and there is a team of Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech Therapists, Biokineticists and a Music Therapist. Each group session is facilitated by a therapist who is ably assisted by wonderful volunteers from the community. As an adjunct to conventional therapy, Headway also offers activities such as beading, drumming and music relaxation.

Headway has Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy students from Wits University who complete practical study blocks at Headway and the centre is always full of positive, cheerful people who have a multitude of skills and an endless amount of care to contribute.

Although each day offers different therapies and activities, a set programme is followed that combines two types of therapy (e.g. Physiotherapy in the morning and Occupational Therapy in the afternoon) and looks as such:

9:00 – 10:30 Therapy 1
10:30 – 11:00 Tea
11:00 – 12:30 Therapy 1
12:30 – 1:15 Lunch
1:15 – 3:30 Therapy 2

Therapy activities include physical exercises and sports, cognitive and perceptual exercises, speech and language exercises, craft work, beading, cooking, computer work and discussion groups. Certain group sessions also target education and understanding of the brain injury, and acceptance and management of the resultant impairments. Outings and guest speakers are also arranged. The cost for the activity centre is R100.00 per day.

Whether completing an activity in the bright spacious therapy room, or sharing tea or lunch on the outdoor patio, our attendees are encouraged to interact socially and to form friendships. In terms of the caregiver, Headway provides an opportunity for respite as you can be safe in the knowledge that your loved one is being cared for and being engaged in a stimulating day. For further information or to book for an initial assessment for the activity centre, please phone Jackie, Karyn or Michele at Headway on (011) 442-5733.

Membership
As Headway is a non-government, non-profit organisation, we raise our own funds and therefore ask you to become a member of Headway in order to benefit from our services. Membership of Headway is R120.00 per annum with the option of a R20.00 donation to the Chairman’s fund. This fund was started by our Chairman, June Cruickshanks, to help with basic necessities for some of our underprivileged members. Should you become a member of Headway you will be entitled to attend our support group meetings, you will receive our monthly newsletter, you will have access to our library and you will be contacted by a counselor from our capable team of volunteers.

Support Services

Telephonic
If you phone Headway someone will be available to answer your questions and provide you with advice and information. We can offer assistance on practical matters such as what to do when the injured person is discharged from hospital, make suggestions regarding rehabilitation and support you in understanding some of the changes that have taken place in the injured person’s brain and in coming to terms with what has happened.

Counseling
Headway understands that a great amount of strain is placed on the family of the injured person and that financial resources for professional counseling are often exhausted in the early days after the accident. For this reason we offer a counseling service that is made up of a team of trained volunteer counselors. One of our counselors will be in constant telephonic contact with you and will be available to meet with you in person if need be.

Support Group
Meeting other families facing the same trauma and challenges can be a very positive and encouraging experience. The Headway Friendship Circle (HFC) meets every second Thursday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Headway premises (85 1st Road Hyde Park). Once a month there is a guest speaker who may be one of our therapists or a motivational speaker, and we are sometimes honoured by one of our injured members being the guest speaker. The other meeting of the month is a general discussion amongst the group members, which is informal and confidential in nature. There is no cost for the meetings and a light supper is provided. For enquiries regarding HFC, please contact Headway on (011) 442-5733. In addition to these meetings, there are several social functions throughout the year. These gatherings are arranged to hopefully cement the friendships formed through the activity centre and support group and to provide our members with an opportunity to relax and enjoy a casual social environment .Please contact us to enquire about upcoming events.

Library
As there is power in knowledge, Headway aims to equip you with as much information as possible about brain injury and how to cope with life’s challenges following such a trauma. We have a library of books and articles available to you, most of which have been read by our staff and we can thus recommend the appropriate materials for your needs.

Home and Hospital Visits
If your loved one is still in hospital and you are in need of support and information, one of our staff will come and visit you at the hospital. Alternatively, someone can visit you at home to assist you with taking the injured person home, and readjusting to his/her needs. We can also advise on an appropriate home programme.

Headway Outreach Project Alexandra (HOPA) – Khomelela
Khomelela has been running successfully since October 2004 at the Alexandra Health Centre and University Clinic (33 Arkwright Avenue, Wynberg). Khomelela is a fully sponsored outreach project, meaning that the attendees are not required to pay membership fees or attendance fees. Khomelela is run by a full time fieldworker and an assistant and has a team of dedicated therapists and volunteers. The offices are open 5 days a week and the activity centre operates daily. Transport within Alexandra is available to the attendees and a hot midday meal is provided.

The activity centre is run according to the same premises and programmes as Hyde Park and includes Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Bio kinetics and Music Therapy. Additional activities are drumming, music relaxation and beading, and outings and guest speakers are arranged. Due to the dire socio-economic situations of our attendees and members at Khomelela, the fieldworker and therapists are constantly finding ways to assist them with income generation, whether through craft and skills training at the activity centre or entrepreneurial training through organisations such as MODE. The fieldworker and assistant are available 5 days a week for counseling and new assessments and are also able to do home visits within the Alexandra community. In addition, they hold frequent awareness campaigns within Alexandra at clinics and other community organisations. The purpose of these campaigns is to educate the community about brain injury and to source those families in need of Headway’s services.