2012 Pilot Program: July 15-21

Starting small, empowering many!

Empower Spinal Cord Injury is proud to announce the negotiation of a contract with Stony Brook University on Long Island as a host site for our inaugural Pilot Program from July 15-21, 2012!  

The pilot program will: 

1. Emphasize the power of group-work, with classes that allow the participants to work together on common goals and to support and encourage each other.  Group activities will focus on issues that are common among individuals living with spinal cord injuries, and will be led by peer mentors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, rehabilitation counselors, and potentially, members of the independent living center (Suffolk Independent Living Organization) and Stony Brook University faculty. 
   
2. Focus on exposing the participants to opportunities, education, and peer mentoring; all with the same mission to better the lives of those living with a spinal cord injury. The participants will live on campus in accessible housing from Sunday-Saturday away from their homes and personal care attendants. Each day, the participant will be surrounded by clinical professionals, peer mentors and other participants, while sculpting their empowered outlook on life.  Through recreational activities ranging from kayaking to hand-cycling, and group activities led by their peers, each individual will lay the groundwork for a foundation of stability and empowerment that will forever impact the path of their life.
3. Act as a springboard for future 4-week programs that will incorporate formal physical therapy, occupational therapy and strength/conditioning in addition to the group therapy and recreational therapy focus, to provide a comprehensive second chance at rehabilitation to the community-dwelling individual with a spinal cord injury.