Happy Birthday Headway
In 2009, Headway - the brain injury association celebrates its 30th anniversary. Here, we explore the origins of the charity and explore just how much has changed in the past 30 years.
Thanks to the vision and hard work of a group of carers 30 years ago, brain injury survivors today know they are not alone. From humble beginnings, Headway - the brain injury association has developed into a national organisation providing care and support to thousands of people across the UK.
A survey completed as part of Action for Brain Injury Week 2008 revealed that people with brain injuries are discriminated against in society. Some are branded as being slow or stupid while at the other end of the spectrum others are accused of faking their disabilities - victims of the lack of understanding that surrounds this hidden disability.
Prior to 1979, brain injury survivors suffered from similar complaints, but they had nowhere to turn for support. The sense of isolation felt by survivors and their families was significant. The demand for a national charity to support people with brain injuries was huge.
The story of Headway begins in 1979. When Sir Neville Butterworth placed an advert in a national newspaper seeking holiday accommodation for his brain-injured son, Dinah Minton and her husband Barry, themselves carers, responded and the three of them set out to find any support networks that may be in existence.
Two social workers, Phillip Lockhart and Reg Talbott, also contact Sir Neville eager to offer their support. On 23 October 1979 in Moseley Hall Hospital, Birmingham, these five people chaired a meeting for all those involved in the care of people with brain injuries. The meeting was attended by 23 professionals and carers from across the UK and Headway was born.
The founding five formed a steering group, which was soon expanded to include neurosurgeon David Price. In March 1980, Headway was officially registered as a charity and by December the following year there were 22 local groups in attendance at the first AGM.
Demand for support from the newly-formed Headway was intense. The 1970s had seen dramatic advances in neurosurgery, keeping more people alive who would have previously died from their head injuries.
Sadly, these advances were not matched by the parallel funding of expert rehabilitation facilities and community-based care services. The result was scores of brain-injured people being discharged into the care of under-prepared families or inappropriate nursing homes run by staff who were not adequately trained. In response to these needs, the first Headway house was opened in Gloucester in August 1983 providing a day-centre service to assist in long-term rehabilitation, respite care and hospital liaison.
Soon, other Headway houses opened in Basingstoke, Colchester, Reading and Bristol, with many more to follow. Today, there are more than 115 Headway groups and branches, with 49 Headway houses in operation.
The support function offered to the groups and branches has also grown, with a team of regional co-ordinators and national development managers now providing assistance to groups and branches in all areas of the UK.
Indeed, Headway has come a long way from its humble origins. Calls to the national helpline, which was established in 2003, are increasing year-on-year, the website has become a key reference source for survivors, carers and professionals alike and the charity now runs nine shops in and around the Nottingham area.
Some things, however, don't change. In 1979, Dinah Minton and her colleagues set out to provide rehabilitation and support to people with brain injuries; today Headway's primary aim remains just that.
With the help and support of hundreds of staff and volunteers across the UK, Headway continues to work to improve the lives of people with brain injuries.
A great deal of progress has been made in the past 30 years, of which everyone who has contributed can be very proud. The challenge now is to make the next 30 years equally successful.
Peter McCabe, Chief Executive
"This year, Headway celebrates its 30th anniversary. And there is a lot to celebrate. As a charity, we help more people than ever before to rebuild their lives after brain injury. Our network of groups and branches has never been bigger or stronger; our national helpline provides support and information to hundreds of callers every month; and our library of informative booklets and fact sheets is continuously increasing in size and breadth of subject covered. In addition, more and more people are learning about brain injury and how Headway can help via our successful media activity.
"None of this would be possible, however, without the dedication and foresight of a group of five strangers who got together to form a national organisation offering support to brain injury survivors and their families. Everyone associated with Headway today owes a great deal of gratitude to these five people.
"A lot has happened since we celebrated our silver jubilee five years ago.
"We have seen the launch of the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions. Headway was proud to be involved in the consultation period and although the NSF may have struggled to gain momentum in the first few years and has subsequently been devolved to run regionally, it remains an important project that we should all be a part of.
"Perhaps the most pleasing development within Headway over the past five years is the expansion of the services department. It has always been our aim to dedicate the maximum resources possible to support front-line services and we can now boast a team of hard-working and dedicated regional co-ordinators and national development managers in every region of the UK.
"As brain injury does not directly shorten one's life, the demands for Headway's services are every increasing. It is our challenge to continue to grow year-on-year in order to meet the needs of brain injury survivors in the UK.
We should all be honoured to be a part of Headway. We have a proud history and I am sure, with hard work and commitment, a positive future too."