Headwaters Acquired Brain Injury Group (HABI)

Association Activities

HABI Participates in Unmasking Brain Injury

Authors: Lauren Brett, Emily De Almeida, & Kindrey Rowland

It is well known amongst those impacted by brain injury that brain injury is so often misunderstood and is frequently referred to as an “invisible disability”. The Unmasking Brain Injury Project is an international initiative to “promote awareness of the prevalence of brain injury; to give survivors a voice and the means to educate others of what it’s like to live with a brain injury; to show others that persons living with a disability due to their brain injury are like anyone else, deserving of dignity, respect, compassion and the opportunity to prove their value as citizens in their respective communities” (Unmasking Brain Injury, 2021). Through the Ontario Brain Injury Association’s (OBIA) involvement in the Unmasking Brain Injury project, the Headwaters Acquired Brain Injury Group (HABI), participated in the initiative this past summer.  HABI is a not-for-profit support group under the umbrella of the Ontario Brain Injury Association serving Orangeville and the Headwaters Region.

HABI offered its members four sessions throughout the summer to create their masks. Twenty-two members, separated into two groups, created masks in the group sessions, with some members also taking their masks home to complete outside of the session times. Participants included those living with brain injury as well as parents, spouses, and children. The sessions were coordinated by HABI volunteer, Lauren Davidson.

Upon completion, members presented their masks to the larger HABI group at their September & October meetings. Members shared their creations and explained the meaning behind their masks to group members.

Program participants found the process reflective, therapeutic, and inspiring. Joe used his mask to depict his recovery journey thus far, stating “My mask represents my journey toward recovery…the sun and clouds represent happy and calm days, the road is my journey and my family provides strength and guidance.” Joe’s wife, Gilda, took the opportunity to use her mask to demonstrate her new role as a caregiver: “This mask represents the emotions I have experienced as a caregiver since my husband’s brain injury in the fall of 2023. I am filled with gratitude for the love and support we have received from family and the brain injury community, and more than anything, I am so proud of my husband; his hard work, determination, courage and unwavering positivity have given me strength and inspiration.”

Members found this experience empowering. Julia explains, “[the process was] empowering to be with others who have been in similar situations and to hear about others’ experiences and their perspectives. I liked doing the mask as it was a way of expressing myself in art [because] words are not always easy to find”. Julia also describes participation in the group sessions as comforting, teaching her that “I’m not alone. Others are going through this and despite our differences, we have that in common. I really liked hearing others’ experiences, [their] positive words, as well as giving hope to others.”

The Unmasking Brain Injury Project provided an opportunity for member’s self-growth.  Dhiljith explains that “the workshop felt like peeling back layers of myself and painting what’s underneath into something tangible. It was raw, strange and unexpectedly liberating – like turning chaos into art that finally made sense.”  Marcailyn notes that “my mask was inspired by the Japanese art of Kintsugi where broken objects are mended with gold to make something even more valuable and beautiful”. Marcailyn learned that “I am not irreparably broken by my injury but rather I am in the process of mending myself back together through determination, and support from my family, my rehabilitation team and the members of HABI”.

Lauren Davidson, a Biology and Psychology student at Queen’s University, facilitated the group this summer. She notes that “participants came together and they discovered that each individual had a powerful story to share about their rehabilitation journey”. Lauren was “deeply moved by the group’s openness and willingness to be vulnerable, noting how participants realized that, despite the uniqueness of each brain injury, they shared many common experiences—particularly the challenge of being misunderstood due to their often invisible injuries”. “I learned from the group’s discussions that recovery from a brain injury requires not only determination but also self-compassion, patience and, most importantly, a strong support system.”

HABI will display the masks and descriptions of the creations in the Orangeville area in June 2025 during Brain Injury Awareness Month as an effort to continue to raise awareness about brain injury and to further promote HABI to members of the community who may benefit. HABI is committed to ongoing advocacy as well as to continuously welcoming new members. As an advocacy effort, HABI member, Wendy Cook, has been working with OBIA to design and produce OBIA flags for all participating communities to be flown each June in memory of her son, Keaton Cook, a long time HABI family member. Furthermore, $1,555 was raised for Keaton Cook in memoriam and donated to HABI in his memory.  For more information about HABI see our website at www.headwatersabi.ca 

Mask Photos & Descriptions