Soo's Got Talent singers step up to help brain injury survivors

The need to raise funds and awareness to help local brain injury survivors cannot be overstated.

With that, the Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & District in collaboration with The Soo’s Got Talent will be holding Dining With the Stars - a fundraiser - at Quattro on Friday, March 31.  

Cocktails are from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m, dinner from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the show from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

Tickets are $60 and are available by calling 705 971-1050, with more information available through email. 

“It should be a super night,” said Darren Robertson, a talent judge for the annual The Soo’s Got Talent competition.

Performers from past The Soo’s Got Talent events, including Amanda Phillips, M.J. Servillon, Wendy Hord, Xavier Pelletier-Lebouef, Darren Emonds, Daniella Brewer and Valerie Powley - a judge from the 2022 The Soo’s Got Talent show - will provide live entertainment for the audience.

“It includes a very lovely meal,” said Chantal Scopacasa, Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & District executive board administrator and peer support coordinator speaking to SooToday.

The menu includes salad, fresh bread, roast chicken, herbed potatoes, vegetables and penne with coffee, tea, water and cash bar.

From 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 31, a free admission vendor and brain injury resource meet and greet will also be held at Quattro.

“The idea around that is to have any local resources specific to working with brain injuries in attendance and that way the public can drop in and be able to see what is available to them here in the Sault,” Scopacasa said.

“It’s useful for brain injury survivors and caregivers to be able to talk to us and find out more about brain injuries in general and find out what supports are available here in the Sault.”

Sponsors for the meet and greet session are McLeish Orlando LLP, Thomson Rogers Law, Oatley Vigmond LLP and Zero Gravity Mind, Body & Wellness.

“Darren from The Soo's Got Talent knows so many vendors so we’ve decided to include some local vendors that sell unique products.”

Scopacasa said vendors will be selling merchandise such as soaps, essential oils and clothing.

Money raised through sales of merchandise by vendors will go to the vendors themselves while the money vendors pay for having vendor booths at Quattro will go to the Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & District.

There is still room for more vendors, Scopacasa said.

Groups dealing with brain injury clients that plan to be in attendance at the meet and greet include the March of Dimes, Spark Rehabilitation Services and Oatley Vigmond Personal Injury Law Firm.

“Oatley Vigmond are great for people to ask questions of because they know all about personal injury law,” Scopacasa said.

Current resources for brain injury survivors in the Sault are few.

They include the March of Dimes, the Canadian Mental Health Association and a neurologist but there’s a waiting list to see that specialist, Scopacasa said.

“There are some people who have been able to get help through the March of Dimes and get assisted living, get a PSW or speech therapist, but for those programs the wait is six to eight years,” Scopacasa said.

“We have a neurologist, we have some services, but it's the wait list. If someone gets into an accident and has a bad brain injury they can’t wait on the list to be seen here in the Sault so they’re forced to travel to London or Burlington.”

“That’s just crazy for someone so close to post-injury to have to travel because a lot of times they get dizzy, they get nauseous, they get headaches.”

“I don’t foresee us ever getting all the medical supports we need here but I would like to be able to offer more resources and education and support to survivors and caregivers.”

Scopacasa spoke to SooToday in May, speaking of the need for more help for local brain injury survivors.

“Since the end of May I’ve helped 89 people,” she said.

“I do feel like the awareness in the community is getting better now. 100 Women Who Care and Royal Purple of Canada found out about us and have supported us and word seems to be getting out more.”

“Ideally we would be able to have a space that I can have open a couple of times a week for the public to drop in, talk to me, ask questions and get information.”

“I do most of the work out of my home. People call me or email or reach out through our website and I get back to them. If they need information I will put together a package for them and I’ll go and drop it off and speak to them at their home, or I’ll email them information.”

Scopacasa also meets with those in need of help at locations such as Scott Coffee or Q Cafe.

“I use my home office - my printer, my ink, my paper - it’s not terrible but it’s a lot harder than it needs to be and I don’t think people are getting the help they truly deserve.”

“With an office space they could see all the different information and be able to talk to me and other survivors.”

“We do get donations, but in order for us to have an office and do what we need to do, we need about $2,000 a month. It’s nothing astronomical. It’s just enough."

Scopacasa recently secured a donated space in which to run support group meetings at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

A support group meeting is planned for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 23 at the Rhodes Centre with the intention to meet monthly, then bi-weekly.

“More funds will help me to run more programming. We could hold more meetings for not only survivors but also caregivers. In the future we could have game nights, movie nights, cooking classes to get survivors together.”

“It’s been a funding struggle."

Scopacasa said government funding for brain injury survivors and services goes to the Ontario Brain Injury Association based in Thorold, Ontario, that money then spread out among local brain injury chapters.

The Sault does not get nearly enough, she said.

“The reasons we don’t get enough is because we’re a smaller northern community unlike Toronto, Waterloo or London and because they get more funding they’re able to establish office spaces and run more programs, more meetings and can do bigger fundraisers. We’re on the short end of the stick because we’re in northern Ontario.”

Brain injuries result from a variety of causes including traumatic injuries suffered in collisions, falls, aneurysms, strokes, neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, poisoning, or concussions suffered in, for example, sports events.

“Brain injury is often a hidden disability. It impacts way more people than you’d ever think. A lot of people don’t even realize that a concussion is actually a brain injury,” Scopacasa said.

The Brain Injury Canada website states that in Canada, two per cent of the population lives with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and that there are 200,000 concussions annually in Canada. 

For information on the Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & District’s March 31 meet and greet and fundraiser or available supports, call 705 971-1050, visit the Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & District’s website or contact the group through email.