What started as a support group has grown to become so much more.
Headway was brought to Guernsey by Shelaine Green in 2006, and initially was a support group for people who had acquired brain injury, and now has various sessions and programmes, from cognitive modules and its gym buddy scheme to regular social events for members to re-integrate into the community while having fun.
Service director Orla-Marie Manning has been involved with the charity since it launched in Guernsey.
She started as a volunteer when she would return to the island between university semesters.
After finishing university, Orla-Marie spent several years working at Headway in Portsmouth before returning to the island to join Headway Guernsey in a time of transformation for the local branch.
‘The format changed significantly, and there was a huge amount of growth,’ she said.
Since returning to Guernsey, Orla-Marie has developed wide-ranging services at Headway.
Her role involves assessing everyone who engage with Headway’s services and she is in regular contact with the brain injury team at the hospital and other community agencies.
Orla-Marie’s mother, an original committee member, suffered a brain injury after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
‘I was 16 when my mum was diagnosed. I was doing my GCSEs at the time, and it was very much a case of family supporting and all rallying around,’ said Orla-Marie.
‘When Headway came to Guernsey I felt impassioned to help people who are going through the same thing. I turned pain into purpose.’
Now Headway Guernsey’s chief executive, Philippa Stahelin joined in 2008 initially as a part-time fundraiser.
‘My role was to find more money for the charity as it was really starting to grow,’ said Philippa.
She became involved in numerous activities, from events to using skills from her professional career in sales management and publishing to secure sponsorship for the charity.
‘The costs just continued, and still do, getting tougher and tougher every year, and we had to raise more money, but fortunately people do see what we do and see the benefits.
‘We did all sorts of things, like car pulls, and also wanted to raise awareness by getting in the Guernsey Press.
‘As a local charity, operating exclusively in the Bailiwick, we receive no States funding and rely entirely on the generosity of the local community and businesses.’
For its first 10 years, Headway Guernsey did not have a permanent base, until it moved to the KGV.
‘We moved around really. We were based at St Martin’s Community Centre, then a church hall, and then we went to Styx, which was the first time we paid rent.
‘We shared Styx, and then we went to the KGV as part of the redevelopment there, and became part of the charity hub.’
The move to the KGV, as the charity celebrated its first 10 years, was invaluable for Headway, as it provided a permanent home which could be turned into a comfortable and familiar space for its members.
‘We had a garden in the Portsmouth Headway for alternative therapies as it’s so cathartic to see everything grow and be outside,’ said Orla Marie.
‘We created the garden here and our planters are all accessible.
‘We want people to feel relaxed when they come here.’
Philippa added that it is a wonderful space in the centre of the island.
‘We feel we enhance the KGV as much as they support us,’ she said.
‘We know them and they know us – there is a really nice camaraderie here.’
During the first 10 years, the charity’s services changed greatly, along with all the changes in location.
While the basic support element stayed the same, the breadth and quality of services Headway was gradually able to provide led to it expanding its expertise, and it was held in higher and higher regard by local medical experts who treat people with brain injuries.
In particular, Headway enjoys a very close working relationship with the neurological team at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, and in recent years members of that team have come to view its work as indispensable.
Philippa said that relationship was and continues to be a game changer for the charity.
‘Building solid relationships with the brain injury teams is massive for us,’ she said.
‘Now they see how we can help, not just the members but also them.’
