Cllr. Ben Ward facilitates Acquired Brain Injury Ireland and Talking Heads to present at the February meeting of Carlow County Council.

I am delighted to be working with Acquired Brain Injury Ireland and Talking Heads to support the vital work they do for people with brain injuries and aphasia. They are working to support people following the acute hospital phase of their injury while they are living in the community. I recently attended one of their monthly gatherings of people with aphasia and the two main points I took from the meeting were: 1. Lack of Funding 2. Lack of Awareness. I have been lobbying the HSE and the Minister for Health to increase funding and supports. I was also delighted to facilitate both groups to present in front of Carlow County Council in February. This was a powerful opportunity for them to raise awareness and advocate for the increased supports they so desperately need. A number of councillors, including myself, committed to allocating discretionary funding to Talking Heads to support the screening of their informative film in the Visual in Carlow later this year. This was a really practical and positive outcome from the meeting. I am looking forward to continuing to advocate and support both groups.