Call 1-800-263-5404
Helpline: Support for Individuals, Caregivers, and Professionals
Whether you or your loved one has experienced a concussion, a moderate to severe brain injury, or you’re a professional navigating these challenges, you are not alone, we are here to help!
OBIA Helpline is here to support:
- Individuals living with brain injuries, who are looking for emotional support, practical guidance in accessing services, or help navigating daily challenges.
- Caregivers, family members and friends managing the complexities of supporting a loved one with a brain injury.
- Professionals – including community organizations, healthcare providers, educators, social workers, and legal advocates, and more—seeking information, referrals, or resources to better assist their clients.
The Ontario Brain Injury Helpline:
- Offers listening and emotional support to discuss the difficulties and frustrations associated with brain injuries.
- Help callers to cope with life changes following brain injury.
- Provides crucial support for families, friends, co-workers and professionals who may be assisting brain injury survivors or seeking information.
- Is responsive to diverse needs, including those from differential cultural and professional backgrounds.
- Offers individual advocacy for individuals living with brain injuries, including but not limited to delivering education to professionals involved in a client’s case, connecting clients with providers to facilitate early intervention, attending case conferences to support communication, as well as serving as a liaison between clients and hospitals, schools, rehabilitation settings, or other large organizations.
- Makes appropriate community referrals to local and provincial resources including:
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- Brain Injury Associations and services providers
- Legal Guidance
- Financial Assistance and Support Programs
- Housing Services
- Employment Supports
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- Offers Caregiver Supports and Guidance.
- Provides assistance for professionals looking to deepen their understanding of brain injury or explore additional resources and referral options for their clients.
Our callers discuss a wide range of issues and feelings, related to, but not limited to:
- Challenges in coping with a brain injury
- Feelings of loneliness and/or isolation
- The impact of living with an invisible disability
- Accessing income support such as OW, ODSP, CPP, WSIB, and criminal compensation
- Educational resources about brain injuries and concussions
- Finding local resources and services
These are just some of the topics we can assist with. You are not alone in dealing with difficult or challenging issues relating to brain injury ─ whether you are living with a brain injury, a family member, a friend, or a professional supporting others. We are here to help!
Calls are open Monday – Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed statutory holidays).
After hours, please leave a message or contact us by email: support@obia.on.ca
Please note that the OBIA Helpline is not a crisis line. If you are in crisis and need immediate assistance, call 911 for a medical emergency or 988 for a mental health crisis, or head to your nearest emergency room.
For additional support, Health811 is a free, secure and confidential service Ontarians can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive health advice from a registered nurse by calling 811 (TTY: 1-866-797-0007), chatting online or navigating to Ontario.ca/health811.
Health811 is for non-urgent health questions and concerns only and is not a substitution for 911, which should still be used for a medical emergency. This service is also not a replacement for regular touchpoints with health care providers.