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Brain Injury Awareness Month – Unmasking Brain Injury Pulls Back the Curtain on Brain Injuries

Jun 1, 2018 @ 08:16

Today, Friday, June 1, more than 25 local Brain Injury Associations and community partners from Ontario will unveil the Unmasking Brain Injury Project in honour of Brain Injury Awareness Month.

Unmasking Brain Injury is an international movement and, through the coordination of the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA), Ontario has become the first province in Canada to participate. OBIA has disseminated over 1400 masks to 26 participating brain injury associations/partners across the province.

Brain injury happens in an instant and lives are changed forever. The numbers are staggering, according to Ruth Wilcock, Executive Director of the Ontario Brain Injury Association. “There are close to half a million Ontarians currently living with acquired brain injury (ABI) and more than 45,000 new cases will be added every year, states Wilcock. “This number does not include the 155,000 new concussions that occur each year in Ontario”.

Yet, brain injury continues to be misunderstood and is often referred to as the invisible disability. Through the unmasking project, hundreds of people living with brain injuries are making the invisible, visible by unmasking their stories through an artistic display of masks that represent their personal journeys.

This project has resonated with survivors of brain injury in profound ways, states Wilcock, as it empowers them to personally increase awareness of brain injury.

Masks will be on display in public areas across the province during the month of June. For a listing of participating Brain Injury Associations/Partners, visit: http://obia.ca/unmasking-brain-injury-project/. Visitors are encouraged to check with their local association/partner and join in their visually powerful and emotional project to raise awareness of ABI and the unique experiences of survivors.

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