Expanding our Services Nationally

2020 is shaping up to be a big year for Synapse as we roll out the three-year $1.8 million Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) NDIS grant to extend our brain injury information and referral service nationally.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19 we’ve been making great progress on the program; building our team and getting to work on broadening the reach and effectiveness of our services. Here’s a little taste of what’s to come.

More people on the ground in local communities

An important part of extending our information service nationally is putting people on the ground in local communities across Australia. To achieve this, we’re building a team of Local Engagement Officers (LEOs) who will be based in various metropolitan and regional areas around the country.

Our LEOs will develop connections with local brain injury services, mainstream providers and people impacted by brain injury to better understand the local environment and specific areas of need. Through these connections, the LEOs will work in communities to deliver specialised programs, information resources and training designed to improve the experiences of people impacted by brain injury.

• As our engagement team grows nationally, we will be offering:
• Direct connection with people impacted by brain injury and their families
• Local peer support activities
• Industry network events
• Brain Injury training, education and consulting
• Online forums and support

More information and resources

Over the years we’ve successfully delivered brain information across a range of publications and in 2019 launched our online brain injury information hub ‘Understanding Brain Injury’. As we expand our national information service, we’ll be creating even more information and resources in collaboration with communities across the country.

We understand how brain injury impacts people at different stages of life and the role that carers, family and service providers can play in providing support. We’ll be developing resources collaboratively with local communities to address the key aspects of life with a brain injury, ensuring people with brain injury and their support networks are well equipped to navigate the challenges.

We aim to deliver exciting new information resources in a number of formats, including:

• Videos
• Podcasts
• Digital stories
• Webinars
• Local workshops
• Online forums and chat
• Publications and resources

More ways to connect with services

We’ll be ensuring that people impacted by brain injury and those who support them can access the advice and services they need in the ways that suit them best. To achieve this, we’re expanding our referral expertise nationally by connecting and partnering with more service providers and organisations who truly understand brain injury.

It will be easier for you to get in touch with us to discuss support and services as we expand our phone services and offer you more options to contact us online. Thanks to our Local Engagement Officers, our local area knowledge will be improved with greater insight on service providers across Australia.

If you prefer to search for service providers yourself online, we’re also expanding our curated Brain Injury Service Directory. We’ll be adding more information on service providers across Australia with a greater level of detail to ensure you find appropriate support quickly and simply.

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