Newsletter - Seattle BrainWorks

Seattle BrainWorks is a member run, member driven community based program that offers support and skill building opportunities
for brain injury survivors. Using the Clubhouse Model, participants actively engage in meaningful work that serves to strengthen
professional and interpersonal skills. Through the promotion of independence and community engagement, Seattle BrainWorks plays
a vital role in the empowerment process of individual with brain injury
BEE NEWS
Fall 2014
Seattle BrainWorks Newsletter
Halloween Party at the Clubhouse
by Martin Schuler
The Halloween party 2014 was a big success with a huge gathering of members and guests all “Games were fun
in costume. Their was a smorgasbord of food that members supplied via a potluck. I was happy to see Matt & Jamie participate this year by getting into the Halloween spirit and dressing like Halloween
up.
bingo, Halloween
Games were fun like Halloween bingo, Halloween word search, Halloween Maze, etc the
games were fun and bingo was long but fun! Martin supplied the decorations to get the Clubhouse decorated in Halloween spirit. It look pretty good.
Supplying the decorations is something that Martin enjoys doing and I have being doing Halloween decorations and parties every year for the last few years whether decorating my house
pre injury. I took great pride in making my house the scariest on the block and yes I had a
cemetery in my front yard. So this is something I enjoy doing.
I take pride in what we do as a Clubhouse whether it is Halloween Decorations or trying to get
this new facility ready to go to grow this Clubhouse for all new Clubhouse members to enjoy.
I think that brain injured people have a lot to offer this world. I do not want any able bodied
person to ever feel sorry for me. I want to help make this Clubhouse work to show that we can
be successful on are own. I think that this a Clubhouse is moving in the right direction.
I am personally looking forward to future and I think for Halloween 2015. I will supply the
decorations for the Halloween party the next year but I think we can make it bigger and better
than this year.
word search, Halloween Maze,
etc… ”
- Martin Schuler
Clubhouse
new space
opening late
December.
In This Issue
 Halloween @ SBW
 SBW Goes to the MOHAI
 An Interview with Amal
Grabinski
 Yoga at the Clubhouse
 My Story is Me: A Member’s Journey
(Left) Costume contest winners Martin Schuler & Randee Rios; (Middle) Halloween Bingo;
(Right) Steve & Alexandra show off their scary costumes
 More...
The views & opinions expressed in The Bee Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seattle BrainWorks or its membership as a whole.
BIAWA Resource Representative at the
Clubhouse
(Left) Giant section of tree that is on exhibit at the MOHAI; (Top) Travis Moe viewing a
fantastic MOHAI exhibit; (Bottom) Earl & Travis
A Trip to the MOHI Museum was a Great Splash
by Earl Debnam & Travis Moe
The MOHAI Museum was both exciting and truly amazing. We
were all huddled up because of the cold and the rain, but we all
went for it to enjoy the exhibit. We all had a good time viewing
the various exhibits. Travis Moe, our Advisory Board representative, pushed me around in a wheelchair to enjoy the exhibits. Lenard Garfield, the director of the MOHAI, stopped and visited
with the both of us and purchased my art cards. Travis suggested
that the next time we do go, it would be fun if all of the members
took an art tour together so that we all can learn about the pieces
as group. We are looking forward to visiting the MOHAI again in
the spring after we have the grand opening of our new clubhouse,
which will be in December, we are greatly looking forward to this!
MOHI: WE COMING AGAIN THIS SPRING.
Interested in more things art?
Northwest Special Artists: “Rising Stars” Exhibition
Including work by the Clubhouse’s Earl Debnam
December 5, 2014—March 15, 2015
Bellevue Art Museum
Community Education Gallery (1st floor)
510 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
The Brain Injury Alliance of Washington is excited for the opportunity
to work with Seattle BrainWorks to
help members all achieve your goals.
We are pleased that Resource Manager Negin Kourehpazan will be at
the Clubhouse every First Tuesday
of the month from 12:00-2:30 to
help with whatever needs may come
up because of your brain injury.
Some examples of how BIAWA
will help you…
· Navigate the medical system.
· Apply for Social Security.
· Return to work/school.
· Access legal aid.
· Find Housing
· Help family & friends understand
Brain Injury.
All services provided are free of
charge.
Please do introduce yourself to
Negin when she is at the Clubhouse,
and let her know how we can support you. You can also call the
Washington TBI Resource Line at
#877-824-1766 to speak with someone over the phone M-F from 9-5.
We are here to help!
Jessica Giordano MA, CBIS, CIRS
Director of Support Programs
Brain Injury Alliance of Washington
The views & opinions expressed in The Bee Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seattle BrainWorks or its membership as a whole
When: 2nd Tuesday of the month
(thru March)
Where: SBW Clubhouse
Time: 1pm-2pm
About Lisa: Lisa has a B.A. in Ar t
from the University of Washington.
She has been an elementary school
age educator for 24 years and has
practiced yoga for 12 years. She has
taught visual art and is currently
teaching cooking at PCC Natural
Markets. Lisa first came to yoga out
of curiosity and to help with shoulder tension. After many years of sporadically learning about yoga
through her own practice she wanted
to deepen her knowledge and received her RYT 200-hour Yoga Alliance teacher training from Twist Yoga in 2013, where she still practices
today.
Yoga: Uniting Body, Mind and Spirit
By Lisa Palmatier
Looking for a way to stretch your muscles, breathe intentionally, relax, reduce stress and connect deeper with
yourself? Then you might want to give yoga a try. Yoga is not your typical “physical workout.” Yes, yoga
involves moving and stretching your body, but it also involves breathing techniques, rest, relaxation and meditation.
Yoga instructor, Lisa Palmatier, taught a 4-week chair yoga class for Seattle Brainworks Clubhouse members
in September 2014. We combined Vinyasa Flow yoga with Chair (seated) yoga to integrate our movements
with our breath as well as incorporating breathing techniques and meditation. Yoga classes will continue on
the second Tuesday of every month between 1-2pm starting in November. Everyone is invited to participate.
Please join us!
Yoga is a 5000 year-old philosophy. The word “yoga” means to yolk, union or to unite. So essentially you are
uniting your body, mind and spirit through conscience body movement, breathwork and meditation (calming
of the mind.) Yoga helps you connect internally to your deeper sense of self while realizing you are a bigger
part of the whole. Yoga classes often open with a chant of the word, Om - “The sound of universal consciousness.” And close with the word, Namaste - “ The light in me honors and appreciates the light in you.”
There are many modern styles of yoga. You can choose one that resonates the most with you. Maybe it’s
Bikram (hot yoga), Iyengar (alignment-based), Yin (holding gravity-induced poses longer), Ashtanga
(vigorous flow based yoga following the same sequence each time) or a combination of many styles. Originally yogis stretched their muscles so they would be able to sit still longer and be more comfortable while meditating. The physical part of yoga was a means to meditation and reaching Samadhi, a Sanscrit word meaning
“bliss.”
One of the many wonderful things about yoga is that there are ways to adapt poses to your own unique body
and everyone can practice it, whether it’s the physical, breathing or meditational aspects. Your yoga practice
can begin to happen outside of class too by incorporating the yogic principles of non-harming, truth, nonattachment, and contentment into your daily life and interactions. Let’s unite together in the practice of yoga!
The views & opinions expressed in The Bee Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seattle BrainWorks or its membership as a whole
David Cole has been a member of the Seattle BrainWorks Clubhouse since
2011. David’s book, The Iliad of the Odd D.C., chronicles his ability to cope with
the lifelong consequences of
TBI through hope, humor,
and a relentless reality.
My Story is Me by David Cole
When I was a lot younger, like a boy, I played amongst and enjoyed all the trees and
lakes and rocks and wildlife. Then, I had the chance to celebrate my becoming older. I
was 18 years old. I mean I was still David. Only the David I was, he was now 18 years
old!
Never could I think, nor could I imagine what it was like to be killed...To have been
"left" for dead, alongside a highway. Until I had found myself in that very place on an
immediately shortened list in the triage line at Boulder Community Hospital!
Just having returned to Colorado from touring the Pacific Coast of North America, where I started right here on Vashon\Seattle,
WA, and rode to Santa Barbara, CA. by bicycle. The only value I've been able to wring out of this torturous experience is that I
managed the hospital stay, I completed all the homework and coursework for my degree, and I've published a book! Now, you
can deal with me at your leisure; or turn the page, close the book, maybe switch the channel.
I'm sorry if I sound like I'm really pissed. I'm working on this as I try and actualize my re-entry into society.
"So, what is it\was it like?"
Yes, you read correctly, it all began hundreds of years ago... last century, in the 20th Century, in 1980 on the 2nd day of the 10th
month if I'm not mistaken. That day, there was a vehicular, head-on collision.
My story is me; it is what enables me to grace the menus, the mealtimes, the floors, the couches, to breathe air we all breathe, to
support the friendships, to get to bear the burden of our time! It had to first involve a motor-vehicle, the errant automobile, and a
Univega. Yes, an old-fashioned (pretty new old-fashioned bicycle) with forks, tubes, brakes, gears, spokes, pedals, and so on.
We are aware of a gnarly, viciously young, heavy set bi-cyclist: tipping the scales: dirt under the finger-nails and all. Probably
no books, no a knap-sack filled with pencils, protractors, lined, or even punched paper. My 10-speed, Univega: a cooked egg
white\gray: seat post, top tube, left and right: rear wheel stays: the silver, aluminum-steel Campagnolo racing\touring hubs, silver\gray, aluminum drop handle bars a sparsely padded English saddle, all the attending angles, and bends, and bearings, and
tires and tubes all weighing in on 90-110 pound, clincher style, rubber constructed tires! Weighing in at probably less than the
1.5 ton Volvo sedan, I found myself in a joust. Our cyclist (yes, me yes... on a bicycle descending the exact same 6 foot stretch
of canyon highway) vs. a Volvo... a Volvo with an inpatient operator. Have you been given the chance to actually sit the saddle,
palm the bars, spin the gears... Of the bike: the up-hill courser, a knight having only just recently graduated high school and become a Buffalo, a University of Colorado Buffalo.
No? Thank God!
I wrote my Iliad (The Iliad of the Odd D.C.) so that mankind could put-to-rest, each and all of their curiosities and wonderings! Written as succinctly as possible, in as remotely graphic, so horrifically bloody, the scene insists. So natural, so literal;
even morbid the actual, real, full time story will warp itself around...Yes, wrap does fit that sentence as well.
Give me a rock and I'll pave a road on it. Give me a bike and I'll put that paved road to use!
The views & opinions expressed in The Bee Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seattle BrainWorks or its membership as a whole.
An Interview with PROVAIL’s Amal Grabinski
By Earl Debnam & Travis Moe
1. How long have you been at PROVAIL and how did you
get involved in your field?
I've been here 19 years now. I was a teacher before I came here, and
I had experience teaching English as a second language, social studies, and special education (focusing on teens with behavioral issues). In the time I've been here, I've been lucky enough to have lots
of opportunities to learn different parts of the social service field -from how to be a case manager, to positive behavior supports,
healthcare management, staff management, benefits, and so on, and
how those relate to people experiencing a wide array of disabilities.
2. What's my role/position at PROVAIL?
My title is "Director of Community Living" which refers to my priAmal Grabinski
mary job as the program administrator for our Community Living
-Director of PROVAIL’s CommuProgram. That program supports about 65 adults with developmennity Living Program (CLP)
tal disabilities to live in the community. We have 19 locations and
-Oversight of Seattle BrainWorks
about 250 staff there. I am constantly looking for ways to expand
Program
and grow the ways that we support people residentially, which has
-Member of PROVAIL’s Senior
led to my involvement in developing the assisted living home for
Leadership team
people with TBI/ABI that we have been working on for the past few
years. I was asked to provide management oversight to the Brainworks program a couple of years ago, which is how I came into the Clubhouse. That involvement helps
me be more closely connected to the world of brain injury and helps me learn
what people's needs are, and how I can incorporate those into how we sup“I really enjoy the
port people to live in the community. And I enjoy it.
chance to talk to
3. The most interesting/challenging part of my job?
The most interesting things are often the most challenging ones! In the last 10
years, one of my challenges has been learning to support people who aging,
alongside people who are younger. Those two groups have very different
needs and interests, and it can be hard to balance both of those out. Another
challenge has been staffing, and fighting for staff to have livable wages across
this field -- because there are so many people who need staff supports, and if
there aren't people who want to work in this field, individuals really suffer. I
guess the most challenging thing about my job is that every single day, I'm
learning something new -- not always things I want to learn, but I'm always
learning!
people and get to
know their stories
and what obstacles
they are facing… ”
- Amal Grabinski
4. What can members do to help you help us?
The most important thing that Clubhouse members can do is to continue to talk to me, ask me questions, and involve me in what goes on in the Clubhouse. I really enjoy the chance to talk to people and
to get to know their stories and what obstacles they are facing in their lives and in their work, and that
helps me learn and identify what the Clubhouse needs on an ongoing basis.
5. How long do i plan to stay?
I don't have a timeline or plans to leave. There's always more to do, and so that keeps me plenty busy!
6. Free time:
In my free time, I spend time with my family -- my husband and 12 year old son, and my many nieces
and nephews. I like to make things, so you'll often find me starting a new project or fixing something
around the house.
The views & opinions expressed in The Bee Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seattle BrainWorks or its membership as a whole.
Announcements
Brain Injury
Survivors:
Become a
member!
Contact Seattle
BrainWorks
(206) 826-1095 or
[email protected]
to schedule a
visit. We look
forward to
meeting you!
2015 is right around the corner! Make a contribution to Seattle BrainWorks (a program of PROVAIL) and help support survivors of traumatic
brain injury.
Please contact
Matt Mast at [email protected] or (206) 826-1072
Visit our website: www.seattlebrainworks.org
or send a check to:
Seattle BrainWorks/PROVAIL
12550 Aurora Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98133
All gifts will be reflected on your 2014 tax receipt.
Interested In Supporting
Seattle BrainWorks?
Visit Our Amazon Wishlist:
 Go to www.amazon.com
 Select “Wishlist” in the upper
right corner.
 Select “Find a Wishlist or
Registry” and search Seattle
BrainWorks.
Thanks for your support!
SEATTLE BRAINWORKS NEEDS YOU!
We’re looking for committed volunteers to help. Especially
needed are volunteers to:
 Help us in our Volunteering Program at the Food Bank;
 assist members with computer and other tasks in the
Business Unit;
 assist members with cooking and other Kitchen Unit
tasks;
 accompany us on outings (museums, baseball, trips to
islands, etc.)
Your time and talents are needed!
Please contact Matt Mast at (206) 826-1072 or
[email protected] to talk about volunteering!
Seattle BrainWorks
Advisory Board
Members
 Andrea Okomski
 Cyndi Akers
 Elizabeth Crouch
 Jan Navarre
 Michael Hatzenbeler
 Tammy Hjort
 Tiffany Kopec
 Valerie Wootten
Clubhouse Member
Representatives:
 Zsche Navarre
 Travis Moe
Interested in becoming a member of the
SBW Advisory Board?
Contact the Clubhouse
for more information
(206) 826-1095
The views & opinions expressed in The Bee Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seattle BrainWorks or its membership as a whole.
Editor’s Comments
All in all, in this edition of Bee News, Matt has introduced a new format to the
newsletter and I think it is great! The other morning, Mallory Puentes
(pictured), a speech and language pathologist at Burien Nursing and Rehab,
reviewed the newsletter and said that she was very impressed with the content
and the level of member involvement. Mike Hatzenbeler provided an update
on the new clubhouse space, stating that the floors have been installed, walls
have been painted, and the new cabinets are on the way. We are looking at
moving into the new space in late December.
(Above): Mallory Puentes
Fun For All!
The views & opinions expressed in The Bee Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seattle BrainWorks or its membership as a whole.
Seattle BrainWorks Member of the Month
Contact Us
Give us a call for more
information about the
Zsche was elected by members as
Clubhouse program
Zsche Navarre
the Member of the Month because
of Zsche’s hard work and dedication to the Clubhouse and its
members. Members find working
with Zsche to be very easy and
comfortable. He is always willing
to lend a helping hand and support
other members as they work to
achieve their goals. Zsche is also
serving as a member representative on the Seattle BrainWorks
Advisory Board. Congrats Zsche!!
Seattle BrainWorks
12550 Aurora Ave N
Seattle, WA 981338036
(206) 826-1094
[email protected]
Visit us on the web at
www.seattlebrainworks
.org
(Above): Zsche Navarre
Seattle BrainWorks Clubhouse
12550 Aurora Ave N.
Seattle, WA 98133-8036
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