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Our Services

At SCI Manitoba, we deliver services toward independent living, services that focus on removing barriers, accommodating needs and empowering people.

Rehabilitation Counselling

Every person with a spinal cord injury returns to an independent life in the community in their own way and their own time. SCI Manitoba offers individual and continuous support, information, community links and follow-up.

The ultimate goal for each of our members is to achieve the most independence possible. By working with members who are adjusting to their lives back in the community, rehabilitation counsellors responsible for transitional services:

  • offer support and advocacy to promote health and wellness;
  • work with individual members in accessing services;
  • assess ongoing psychosocial and functional needs;
  • identify any barriers that exist;
  • develop a community rehabilitation plan; and
  • set goals for safe and successful reintegration.

Working in conjunction with the SCI Manitoba rehabilitation team, and other service and health care providers, this may include directing members towards appropriate community services, assistance with accessing additional funding sources, referral to more in depth vocational counselling, or exploring other interventions to effectively address the complex and multifaceted needs of individuals with spinal cord injuries.

Member Support and Service Coordination

The goal of member support and service coordination is to ensure that people with spinal cord injuries get the support they need after the injury, to transition effectively from the hospital to the community, so they can achieve their optimal level of integration in the communities of their choice.

A spinal cord injury is a life-changing event, but it should not define you. SCI Manitoba will help you process the feelings you have about living with a disability in a safe and encouraging environment, and help you discover new possibilities for a life that is fulfilling and meaningful.

A team of specialized rehabilitation counsellors works directly with each member and their family, beginning at the time of injury, to identify unmet needs, help access services and resources, and set goals for the future. This is crucial to ensuring that members avoid confusion, frustration and hopelessness as they undertake the daunting task of adjusting to life with a spinal cord injury. These supports continue to be available to members throughout their lives, helping them to adjust and access necessary services.

Education / Employment Services

Through early intervention, we can help you identify vocational options and find employment that is consistent with your values, skills, abilities and interests.

Education and employment services are collaborative and individualized. SCI Manitoba’s vocational counsellor assists members to explore their interests, skills, aptitudes, training options, and labour market information internally or, if required, through referral to an external assessment facility for formal vocational evaluation.

Services include:

  • direct access to employment, including assistance with job search;
  • resume preparation and interview skills;
  • collaboration with pre-injury employers to ensure positions are held for you, and that any necessary supports are in place when you return to work;
  • help employers redesign your work if you are unable to perform some, or all, of your pre-injury tasks;
  • learn more about educational facilities and the programs offered, and consider informational interviews with employers to learn more about various fields of employment;
  • enrollment in educational or training programs to prepare for employment; and
  • exploration of funding options to enable educational pursuits.

Peer Support

There is nothing like connecting with someone who’s been there. We provide opportunities for people to make those connections, if and when they want.

There are many ways for members to connect with one another, and options are explained and offered to all members with a new spinal cord injury. Many members find this first-hand support and sharing of lived experiences to be incredibly valuable. Links to other SCI Manitoba members can be arranged for many different reasons, for example:

  • touring other members’ homes to help you decide what modifications will best suit your particular needs;
  • exploring different vehicles to see what equipment and/or hand controls could work in your situation;
  • discovering how other parents with SCI are looking after their children; and
  • finding out what other members are doing to overcome various obstacles to full community participation.

Community Advocacy

We are committed to creating a society based on inclusiveness, so we identify and eliminate barriers to promote full community participation, and we take part in injury prevention efforts, as leaders or through working with others. SCI Manitoba offers systemic advocacy, representing the needs of the community as required. We can help direct individuals to personal advocacy supports provided by other organizations.

Information Services

We strive to be the hub of current, comprehensive and relevant information for people with spinal cord injuries, their families, employers, community agencies, insurers and governments.

ParaTracks

ParaTracks is a newsletter publication of SCI Manitoba and is generously supported by Manitoba Paraplegia Foundation Inc. For archived issues of ParaTracks, click here.

The ParaTracks newsletter is published three times per year and distributed to SCI Manitoba members, health care providers and other stakeholders. Digital copies of the newsletter are also posted to this website.

Latest ParaTracks

English French 

View archived issues of ParaTracks

 

Advertising Rates

Your advertising in ParaTracks positions you well within Manitoba’s SCI community and supports our ongoing work.

For photo ready copy:
Full Page–$160
Half Page–$87
Quarter Page–$55
Business Card–$33

Classified ads are free for CPA members.

Editorial Submissions

We encourage SCI Manitoba members to submit articles for publication in ParaTracks. For more information please contact us at 204-786-4753 or info@scimanitoba.ca.