FIND A SUPPORT GROUP
Brain Injury Association of Georgia (BIG)- Support Groups*
Welcome! Below is a list of support groups currently meeting virtually, in-person, including Peer/Buddy Programs offered by universities. Support Group information is subject to change. Please contact the support group before you attend a meeting for the first time or if you have not attended recently. Some groups may take breaks at different times during the year. Always ask to be added to their contact list to stay informed.
Why Attend a Support Group? The purpose of a support group is to learn more about brain injury and available services by meeting with others who are facing or have faced similar challenges. The essential elements of a support group are:
To join, click on the links with your smartphone, iPad/tablet, or computer. If you are using a cell phone or tablet, please download the Zoom Cloud conferencing app.
ABI and/or TBI survivors, caregivers, friends, and professionals are invited to attend local or statewide
CAREGIVERS- Please visit our Caregivers Resource Group to connect with several groups dedicated to caregivers and families
Board Member Support Group Liaisons who work with the BIAG support groups statewide. Providing guidance, answering questions, speakers, working with support group leaders, and more: [email protected]
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VIRTUAL meetings
Weekly:
Bi-Monthly via Virtual:
Monthly via virtual:
IN-PERSON meetings
Athens Area BI Support Group
Augusta and the Richmond County region
Cartersville and Bartow County
Cobb/Cherokee and surrounding counties:
Coweta and surrounding counties:
Chatham and surrounding counties:
DeKalb, Fulton, and Atlanta
Gwinnett County:
Valdosta/Lowndes County & surrounding counties
Welcome! Below is a list of support groups currently meeting virtually, in-person, including Peer/Buddy Programs offered by universities. Support Group information is subject to change. Please contact the support group before you attend a meeting for the first time or if you have not attended recently. Some groups may take breaks at different times during the year. Always ask to be added to their contact list to stay informed.
Why Attend a Support Group? The purpose of a support group is to learn more about brain injury and available services by meeting with others who are facing or have faced similar challenges. The essential elements of a support group are:
- Gather information
- Share common needs and strengths
- Provide a place to meet new friends and find new connections in the community
- Provide a safe place to find courage and take risks
- Provide an opportunity to socialize
- Provide an environment where positive and negative views can be expressed without being judged
To join, click on the links with your smartphone, iPad/tablet, or computer. If you are using a cell phone or tablet, please download the Zoom Cloud conferencing app.
ABI and/or TBI survivors, caregivers, friends, and professionals are invited to attend local or statewide
CAREGIVERS- Please visit our Caregivers Resource Group to connect with several groups dedicated to caregivers and families
Board Member Support Group Liaisons who work with the BIAG support groups statewide. Providing guidance, answering questions, speakers, working with support group leaders, and more: [email protected]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
VIRTUAL meetings
Weekly:
- Tuesdays: 1:00 for the Stroke Group and 2:00 for the Writing Group. Stroke Support Group Creative Writing Group. Meets weekly to target memory, word retrieval, and overall communication within a supportive and engaging group. Creative Writing groups work through a variety of activities that target similar skills, with a focus on expanding writing skills. Contact the RiteCare Center for Communication Disorders, located on the Georgia Southern Armstrong Campus in SAVANNAH, at 912-244-273, or the group leader, Sandra Mullis, at [email protected].
Bi-Monthly via Virtual:
- Every Other Monday- 8-9 PM (EST): BrainTrust at Berkley. These Zoom-based meetings offer a space for individuals with brain injuries to connect and share experiences in a supportive environment. Also offering One-on-one Buddy Program and Speaker Events. Meeting virtually on Zoom, email to get connected. Jose Parra [email protected]
- Every Other Friday - 12 - 2:00 PM: Seminole Spirit- biweekly Virtual Speech language brain injury support group. 4 speech therapists join in our 2nd hour to engage with our members. Leader: Mark Halvorsen - Director, Founder. 404 434-7452.
[email protected]. Meeting on Zoom. Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82099235439 - First Friday and Last Tuesday of each month: New Beginnings Brain Injury Support Group. Contact [email protected] to confirm and to be added to the virtual team invite list. Virtual Team meeting held: on the last Tuesday of each month, 6:00 - 7:00 pm, and the first Friday of each month, 1:00 - 2:00 pm
- 1st and 3rd Wednesdays monthly- 7:00-8:30 pm: Brain Injury Survivors Association. Meeting on Zoom. Call or email for the Zoom link. Denzil Strickland, 404-938-8038 (www.braininjurysurvivors.net). Email [email protected]
- 2nd and 4th Wednesdays monthly-5 pm: Brain Exchange- Supporting All Persons Impacted by Brain Injury. Sign up here: dearjoyce.club/join-be/ Meeting Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2706526984 Contact leaders Joyce and Sara at [email protected], or call Sara at 303-912-4495
- 2nd and 4th Sunday monthly- 7:30 -9 pm: Severe Brain Injury Caregiver Support Group. Group Leader: Tom Gallup - [email protected] - (301) 502-8420. www.severebicaregivers.com Meeting Location: Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
8546290864?pwd=WklQcGQyU3FoUktUQjVrMWRXRmZ3QT09 Or Dial by cell phone: 1-929-436-2866
Monthly via virtual:
- Third Thursday - 6-7:30 pm: The Young and Restless in Atlanta Young (at heart) Stroke/TBI Peer Engagement Group meeting on Zoom Contact- Ronnie Wells, [email protected]; 678.416.8325 Open to all brain injury survivors and friends
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IN-PERSON meetings
Athens Area BI Support Group
- 4th Thursday (excluding holidays) 11:30 a.m.-12:30 pm- St Mary’s stroke support group. St. Mary's Health Care System in the Lobby conference room, 1st floor, 1230 Baxter St, Athens, GA 30606. Contact Whitney Barfield at [email protected]
Augusta and the Richmond County region
- Second Thursday - 6 pm: Augusta Brain Injury Support Group. Meet in person at NeuroRestorative Georgia, 3648 Walton Way Ext, Augusta, GA 30909. Contact Marti Hanson for more information at [email protected]
Cartersville and Bartow County
- Third Thursday of each month: Team Survivors. 6-8 pm, Cartersville, GA. Also meeting on the first Tuesday at 1 pm for a group lunch social. Contact Allison Mann at 404.395.4849 or email [email protected]. Welcoming ALL brain injury survivors, their families, caregivers, friends, and anyone interested. Meetings include speakers, support, camaraderies, and togetherness.
Cobb/Cherokee and surrounding counties:
- First Tuesday of each Month: Unlimited Possibilities. Monthly on the first Tuesday at 6:00- 8:00 pm. All are invited to attend. Contact Denise Bourne at (678) 733-1540 or [email protected]. Location varies - contact leader for specifics.
- Every Friday Social: Unlimited Possibilities. Breakfast social every Friday at 10 am - IHOP, 1950 Cobb Parkway, NW, Kennesaw, GA 30152. Contact Denise Bourne at (678) 733-1540 or [email protected].
Coweta and surrounding counties:
- Last Tuesday of each Month at 2-3 pm: Encompass Health FOR OLDER STROKE SURVIVORS. For more information and directions, email [email protected] or call (678) 552-6253. Located at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Newnan, 2101 E. Newnan Crossing Blvd, Newnan, GA 30265.
Chatham and surrounding counties:
- First Thursday of each Month at 5:30-6:30: Grey Matters Support Group. 4811 Waters Ave., Savannah, GA 31404. A support group is for people living with brain injury, their family, caregivers, and friends. Share your story, learn about meeting the challenges of living with brain injury, and give and receive support from others who have walked in your shoes.
We meet at LIFE (Living Independence for Everyone) in the Medical Arts Shopping Center, located directly across from
Memorial Hospital. For more information, email [email protected] or call 912-920-2414. - Every Friday, 10 am - 11:30 am. Speak Easy Support Group. Savannah Speech & Hearing Center, Main Conference Room, 5414 Skidaway Road, Savannah, Georgia 31406. All are welcome, including family and caregivers. For information, please contact Jenna Harcher at 912.355.4601 ext 132 or J[email protected]
DeKalb, Fulton, and Atlanta
- Wednesday, Dec 10, 10:00-11:00 AM (No meeting in Oct or Nov) Wellstar Aphasia Choir at North Fulton Hospital in Roswell
- Third Thursday -12 pm: Wellstar Stroke and Brain Injury Support Group at North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, GA. Contact Sheila Oelrich, [email protected], Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation
- Second Tuesday - 6:30 pm, Emory Brain Injury Support Group: 1441 Clifton Road NE. 2nd Floor, Atlanta 30322. Parking is in the back of the Emory Rehabilitation Hospital. You may need to announce you are attending the Emory SG to get through the gate (right side of the building). Take the elevator to the 2nd floor, room #240. Contact Carl Griffith 404-409-9339, [email protected], or Pat Gartrell 404-401-3295.
- Fourth Thursday -Stroke Survivors Club. 1441 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322 (Emory Rehab Hospital), 2nd floor, Rm 240. November, meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday, and NO MEETINGS in Dec. Contact group leaders Mahdi Karim CTRS, 404-561-1787, Beth Terrell OT, 404-450-2999. Meetings can differentiate between Educational sessions, Information regarding community reintegration, Hands-On leisure such as gardening, painting, trying out new assistive technologies, to name a few.
Gwinnett County:
- Last Tuesday of each month from 6:30 -8:00 pm. The New Normal. This group is taking a hiatus for the rest of this year. Be watching for more information early in 2026.
Valdosta/Lowndes County & surrounding counties
- Second Tuesday- 6-7:15 pm: SGMC Stroke & Head Injury Support Group. SGMC Smith Northview Cafeteria. Contact Joan Allah, LMSW, 229-259-4292 or [email protected] __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Brain Injury Identification Card - It is recommended that brain injury survivors carry with them an ID Card that helps them share with others in time of crisis how their injury and challenges affects them. The card quickly identifies who to call for more information or help; helps 1st responders or law enforcement identify them as an individual with a brain injury. Click HERE
PEER and BUDDY SUPPORT PROGRAMS at Universities and other
Georgia State University
Synapse at GSU Peer Support Meetings
[email protected]
Our first peer support meeting will be every other Saturday from 3:00 PM-4:00 PM, starting Feb 24th, 2023 and we would like to invite you to attend our meeting. Here's the link to sign up: https://forms.gle/sMoU8S9ziucff2fP9
Synapse at Georgia State University (formerly BrainSignal at GSU). Our mission is to provide a powerful social support network for individuals with brain injury through the facilitation of peer support groups, a buddy program, and guest speaker events featuring physicians or researchers to spread awareness about brain injury.
Throughout this semester, we plan to host multiple peer support meetings to provide a safe space for individuals affected by brain injury to interact and connect with each other. During these meetings, individuals may share their journeys and learn about various topics discussed.
Synapse at GSU Peer Support Meetings
[email protected]
Our first peer support meeting will be every other Saturday from 3:00 PM-4:00 PM, starting Feb 24th, 2023 and we would like to invite you to attend our meeting. Here's the link to sign up: https://forms.gle/sMoU8S9ziucff2fP9
Synapse at Georgia State University (formerly BrainSignal at GSU). Our mission is to provide a powerful social support network for individuals with brain injury through the facilitation of peer support groups, a buddy program, and guest speaker events featuring physicians or researchers to spread awareness about brain injury.
Throughout this semester, we plan to host multiple peer support meetings to provide a safe space for individuals affected by brain injury to interact and connect with each other. During these meetings, individuals may share their journeys and learn about various topics discussed.
Emory Synapse
Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in order to encourage participant safety, we will be holding peer buddy and support meet-ups over Zoom. Please email [email protected] for the link to join and for an update to our program.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us at [email protected].
The mission of Synapse is to provide individuals who are living with brain injury the opportunities to connect with and learn from one another in order to improve their access to resources. Synapse also aims to provide students with opportunities to serve as community leaders while learning about the patient perspective of living with a brain injury. We hope to accomplish these goals through our three core programs. Through these staple events, we hope to foster a network of patients, students, faculty, and physicians to spread awareness of the resources and needs of those living with brain injury, as well as their overall well-being.
Learn more by clicking HERE
Three Core Programs include:
Peer Support Groups: Bringing together individuals with brain injury, allowing them to share experiences and resources.
Buddy Program: We pair brain-injured individuals with a buddy. These buddies can serve as mentors, friends, and role models. Contact us for more information.
Lectures and Events: Synapse brings in physicians, researchers, and other professionals to inform and educate those with a brain injury and the broader community.
Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in order to encourage participant safety, we will be holding peer buddy and support meet-ups over Zoom. Please email [email protected] for the link to join and for an update to our program.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us at [email protected].
The mission of Synapse is to provide individuals who are living with brain injury the opportunities to connect with and learn from one another in order to improve their access to resources. Synapse also aims to provide students with opportunities to serve as community leaders while learning about the patient perspective of living with a brain injury. We hope to accomplish these goals through our three core programs. Through these staple events, we hope to foster a network of patients, students, faculty, and physicians to spread awareness of the resources and needs of those living with brain injury, as well as their overall well-being.
Learn more by clicking HERE
Three Core Programs include:
Peer Support Groups: Bringing together individuals with brain injury, allowing them to share experiences and resources.
Buddy Program: We pair brain-injured individuals with a buddy. These buddies can serve as mentors, friends, and role models. Contact us for more information.
Lectures and Events: Synapse brings in physicians, researchers, and other professionals to inform and educate those with a brain injury and the broader community.
BEST BUDDIES in Georgia
[email protected]
Phone: 1-800-89-BUDDY (28339)
BESTBUDDIES.ORG/GEORGIA
Director, Mission Advancement (GA) – Contact: Katie Shahzade
Best Buddies is dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living. Best Buddies serves, but is not limited to, people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities.
[email protected]
Phone: 1-800-89-BUDDY (28339)
BESTBUDDIES.ORG/GEORGIA
Director, Mission Advancement (GA) – Contact: Katie Shahzade
Best Buddies is dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living. Best Buddies serves, but is not limited to, people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities.
*PLEASE NOTE: Support Groups listed are for your information only and to assist you in locating a group. Support groups have been established and are run by persons with brain injury, family, professionals and/or staff from other organizations serving people with brain injury and do not necessarily reflect the views or official position of BIAG. As social media grows, so does the ability to locate groups on-line, Facebook … etc. Use caution with sharing personal information. Support Groups, which are volunteer administered, provide an opportunity for those individuals and family members affected by brain injury not only to learn more about brain injury but to be present in a safe and encouraging venue to discuss the challenges they face.
If you are interested in starting a support group and consideration for Brain Injury Association of Georgia affiliation, please send an email of interest to our Support Group Liaison Committee at [email protected]
If you are interested in starting a support group and consideration for Brain Injury Association of Georgia affiliation, please send an email of interest to our Support Group Liaison Committee at [email protected]
Memory of former Support Group Leaders
5/28/2024: Jean Kropa was a long time volunteer and friend to the Brain Injury Association of Georgia (BIAG). After her son had a TBI, she saw the need for support and guidance for others going through the same journey. This led her to create the Mild Brain Injury Support Group which she helped lead from 1989-2020. There are many wonderful memories we had with her, her husband and son over the years. Jean introduced the idea of a brain injury wallet card, she created beautiful wreaths for silent auction items and more. Her life was a blessing and memories a treasure as her legacy will be the lives she touched, the inspiration she gave.
Roger Brathwaite
Founder of the Young and Restless in Atlanta Stroke and TBI Support Group, BIAG Board of Directors 2023 Vice-chair
We dedicate this page to our friend and group leader, Roger Brathwaite, who passed away in June of 2023. We are heartbroken to lose such a champion of disability rights.
You were loved and will be missed. Thank you for your wonderful smile and servant leadership. Your life was well lived and we honor you.
Founder of the Young and Restless in Atlanta Stroke and TBI Support Group, BIAG Board of Directors 2023 Vice-chair
We dedicate this page to our friend and group leader, Roger Brathwaite, who passed away in June of 2023. We are heartbroken to lose such a champion of disability rights.
You were loved and will be missed. Thank you for your wonderful smile and servant leadership. Your life was well lived and we honor you.
© Brain Injury Association of Georgia.
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Mailing Address:
5962 Zebulon Road PMB 220 Macon, GA 31210 Email: [email protected] Toll Free 1-800-444-6443 |