BRAVE stands for “Building a Recovery Attitude by Voicing our Experiences” and was coined by a group of survivors of brain injury after the conclusion of their primary rehabilitation. Initially a therapy group, BRAVE members observed that the expectation of their recovery was far below their actual potential. In order to address this disconnect, the group was turned into the not-for-profit entity BRAVE Publications.
BRAVE Publications videographer Patrick Morrissey filming Dr. Harvey Jacobs for “Brain Injury: Voices of a Silent Epidemic”
Although the brain is a fascinating organ, it is still not completely understood, which means that traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause many unique social and physical challenges. With this in mind, BRAVE recognizes that brain injury is a significant issue not just for survivors, but for their families and the medical community as well. By working as an advocacy group, BRAVE endeavors to bridge the gap between survivors and practitioners in order to ensure each survivor achieves the quality of life s/he deserves.
BRAVE works on two levels: networking and education. It is dedicated to bringing the voices of survivors to the research community, which can sometimes deal with the brain in abstract, scientific terms. By attending research conferences, our group shares survivors’ stories, bringing some researchers into contact with the community they’re serving for the first time. The second pillar of the organization, education, denotes not only raising awareness of TBI within the United States as a whole, but also of proliferating pertinent research topics, such as emergency planning, in an easily accessible language.
Our latest publication, the educational film Brain Injury: Voices of a Silent Epidemic, is perfect for the survivor or family member struggling to understand what recovery looks like, and the professional edition is suited for any professional seeking to educate himself or others on TBI.
About our founder
Cindy Daniel, the founder of BRAVE Publications and the producer of the Brain Injury video series, is a counselor who works with communities, companies, and individuals to better understand and work with disabilities. Having worked in the disability field for over 20 years, Cindy’s goal is to help people with disabilities achieve the quality of life that they choose, while being fully integrated into their communities. BRAVE was founded on her philosophy that it’s necessary to fully understand the person before they can be helped.