Goodwill is a qualified provider for Connecticut's ABI Medicaid Waiver Program. This program enables people with an acquired brain injury to live outside of institutions and nursing homes by providing non-medical services to them in their own communities. Individuals must be eligible for services through either the Connecticut Department of Social Services, ABI Medicaid Waiver or the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services ABI.

At Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut, individuals receive independent living skills training, support services, cognitive, and vocational training they need to re-build their lives. Our innovative services allow survivors of brain injury the chance to re-develop physical mobility, memory, self-care, communication, and other skills needed for daily living.

Goodwill's Acquired Brain Injury Program:

• Provides a comprehensive array of non-medical, employment, and community living suport services to individuals who have sustained a brain injury.
• Serves individuals who are instituionalized or are at risk of institutionalization but can live safely in the community with supports.
• Involves the person being served, families, and professional team members in the development and implementation of individualized plans.
• Engages people in meaningful social, pre-vocational, vocational, and recreational activities throughout the day, enabling people who have been institutionalized for years to live in the community and experience dramatic improvements in their lives.

Goodwill provides a vast array of services and training to this population including:

(1) Community Living Support Skills (CLSS) focuses on accompanying individuals as they lead their lives in the community - going shopping, to a doctor's appointment, or simply catching a movie;

(2) Independent Living Skills Training (ILST) teaches people how to negotiate as independently as possible through daily life - cooking, grooming and hygiene, or keeping checks and balances on a checkbook and

(3) Pre-Vocational and Supported Employment Services prepares people for the world of work. When they are ready, we can help them find and keep employment with continued support.

Other services provided by Goodwill:

• Case management
• Chore services
• Companions
• Family training
• Homemakers
• Supported employment

To learn more about Goodwill's ABI program, please email our Human Services Department at Goodwill ABI Program or telephone (203) 368-6511.