News

The Brain Charity has partnered with the University of Liverpool on a pioneering research study around disability benefits, but we need more people to share their stories.

Since the Covid-19 lockdown began, The Brain Charity’s dedicated staff and volunteers have been working non-stop to give support to all our clients. As well as telephone befriending and online activities, we launched a community support service to keep our most vulnerable clients safe, shielding at home.

One of the projects The Brain Charity set up in response to the Covid-19 pandemic is a weekly 1-2-1 catch up phone service to help support those who are socially isolated and beat loneliness during lockdown. Our volunteers make regular calls from their homes and are able to speak with clients all over the UK. Calls initially started with 5 to 10 minute chats, but now many are up to an hour a time and include Zoom or WhatsApp video calls.

Our voices are often a big part of our identity: when we say hello to friends we haven’t seen in years and when we tell our loved ones that we love them.

Saying “hello” isn’t original, but it feels personal because we got to say it with our own voice. For many people with neurological conditions like motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis, this is a real issue.

Making a memory book during the Covid-19 pandemic may be a good way to make sense of what’s happening around you right now. What memories you choose to include are personal to you. You may make one based on all the good things that have happened during lockdown, or one that is full of information about the virus itself and all of the wonderful work the NHS has done.

Join us online with The Brain Changer Arts Project, where we are offering tutorials via The Brain Charity’s online platforms for both our Physiotherapy through Dance and Occupational Therapy through Art and Craft workshops.