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Why We Need Collective Advocacy
We Survivors Speak Best Regarding Our Issues and Regarding Advocacy and Public Policy Involving Our Brain Injury Survivor Community
There are many who speak for us but generally from their own viewpoint and that is not necessarily the best way to look at things from our side. Generally, most agencies appear to have to say and promote that which their donors want. They have to concentrate on those things. Perhaps some of the issues we talk about aren't particularily important to their donors. So said issues are by and large ignored. Oh, except that on occasion a little lip service on these underplayed issues is announced by particular "advocacy" agencies.
Additionally, most agencies can't say or promote anything that would offend their donor base. For example, if an agency gets its funding from hospitals; rehabilitation hospitals; the government; educational institutions; lawyers; doctors; state, county, local service providers; device makers or pharmaceutical companies how likely is it that they will speak out about deficiencies in their own service delivery? Are they likely to encourage protocols, regulations and laws that will clean up their own inadequacies or add to the costs of their service delivery? Are they likely to publicize cases where individuals with brain injuries were harmed or potentially could be harmed by their service delivery? Not likely. Not likely at all.
That is why an agency such as the Brain Injury Network is important. We can share the unvarnished truth about many situations. We can and do make recommendations that will benefit our own community without worrying about what some donors might think or want. And we can and do point to issues that they appear not to have thought about that affect our community. In so doing we hope that they raise their game and address these issues.
We do recognize that sometimes certain donors and "advocacy" agencies do get it right about certain issues. For that we are grateful. We are here, though, to broaden the playing field. That means that we will talk about anything that affects our community and we can and will make recommendations that others might not. Because ultimately our goal is to see the lives of people with brain injuries be improved in every way possible.