THIS PROGRAM IS NOW COMPLETE

PLEASE REFER TO NORCAL SCI NEWLY INJURED GRANT

Thanks to a generous grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, NorCal SCI will be enrolling a total of 80 newly-injured individuals through October 2024 in the “It's Within You: Life After A Spinal Cord Injury” program to help support the lives of those individuals with SCI who are within two years from their injury date. Each person’s program will take four months to complete.

Watch these short videos by some of our participants to see what they’ve accomplished and then read more about the benefits and how to apply for the program below.

HOW WOULD YOU BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM?

Our program has multiple components to better support persons with an SCI during the first couple of years following SCI. Here’s what each person will be offered upon being enrolled in our program:

INTENSIVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Our goal for this component of the program is to enable participants to establish a better understanding of how to apply a very high amount of physical fitness and training to improve strength, flexibility, and function.

1. Enroll each participant in a community college’s Adaptive Physical Education program for four months for the maximum number of such courses allowed, paid for by NorCal SCI.

2. Enroll each participant at a nearby accessible exercise and fitness therapy gym with adaptive equipment for 3-4 months, paid for by NorCal SCI.

3. Provide each participant with a full set of resistance bands and access to two educational videos on the proper use of such equipment, allowing you to develop a highly effective in-home exercise program, paid for by NorCal SCI.

4. View a series of Pilates & Fitness training video classes to learn movement- based exercise routines that can be done at home.

5. Attend a twice-weekly virtual fitness and aerobics training class already provided through NorCal SCI to our community for four months.

6. Require viewing of a six-part educational video series on benefits of electrical stimulation on individuals with SCI along with tips on proper usage, and providing each participant with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)unit to exercise the appropriate parts of their body, paid for by NorCal SCI.

EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION

1. View/read information addressing 12 common topics central to a successful understanding of life after SCI:

• Understanding my injury
• Bowel
• Bladder
• Spasticity
• Pain
• Skin health
• Sexuality and Relationships
• Mental health
• Bone health
• Nutrition
• SCI cure
• Technology

2. You will also be requested to view Nutrition & Cooking classes emphasizing the importance of developing a healthy dietary approach following your injury as well as fun and practical cooking demonstrations for wheelchair users to help them maintain a healthy diet with easy-to-make meals.

All these areas will be covered through educational videos and presentations as well as published books and booklets that NorCal SCI has already prepared or identified. Each participant in our program is requested to view and read all of the materials we will provide and then provide written, video, or audio recording feedback for each category of information.

If you have not received one already, we will provide each participant a NorCal SCI Care Package that contains many of the aforementioned publications as well as tools and devices, all self-contained in a high-quality backpack (https://norcalsci.org/care-package-resources). Additionally, each participant will be able to request a free Google Home Mini or Amazon Echo Dot with a Smart Plug or Bulb.

ROAD TO EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT

An important part of recovery from SCI is participation as a contributing member of the society. This engagement can occur in a variety of ways including volunteering, pursuing education and re-training, and returning to the workforce. Each participant will be provided with the following resources:

1. View a motivational video featuring “Scott Chesney’s Journey of Discovery”

2. View a presentation by C4-5 Quadriplegic, Josh Basile, on “Employment Following a Spinal Cord Injury”

3. We will provide contact information for the California Department of Rehabilitation – The mission of this state agency is to help support and facilitate the return to the workforce of individuals with disabilities. The agency offers a variety of services and resources to help such individuals develop plans and provides the necessary financial support to pay for their expenses.

PEER SUPPORT

We will offer to pair each program participant with a Peer Mentor to help support them throughout the 4-month program. This support will occur through twice-monthly phone (or in-person) conversations that allow the Peer Mentor to assess how the participant is doing and progressing within the program and whether or not there are any issues that they can help the participant with.

ESTABLISHING BASELINE HEALTH DATA

Each participant will be required to provide NorCal SCI with a fasting lipid panel at the beginning and end of their program. This will help us document any health benefits achieved attributable to the program that can be shared with members of the SCI community and those working and supporting them.

READY TO ENROLL & BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM?

For consideration, you must:
• be a Northern California resident
• be within two years of your injury date
• be a person with a traumatic spinal cord injury

TO APPLY FOR THIS PROGRAM, COMPLETE THE APPLICATION BELOW