Brothers reaching out to help one another

Spinal cord injury support group meets regularly at The Rehab Institute

by Becky Slatin

REHAB INSTITUTE   After being in a wheelchair unable to breathe on his own for the past 12 years, Brandon Morris says he has learned a lot.

“One thing I know is that it takes more energy to be negative than to be positive,” says the co-founder of the spinal cord injury support group, Brother’s Keeper s.c.i. “You’ve got to work with what you’ve got.”

Morris, a victim of gun violence, was injured in 1996 following a shooting in St. Louis. As a young father who loved sports, his entire life was turned upside down. But thanks to a supportive family, he has managed to make a difference in his own life as well as others’ lives, along with his friend and co-founder of Brother’s Keeper s.c.i.

— Terrence Clark.

Clark has been in a wheelchair for 18 years after being hit by a stray bullet, which went through the headrest of his car seat and lodged in his back. He also has had supportive family members, including his children and wife of 12 years. But, he readily admits it took him at least three years to cope with what happened to him.

After meeting at a movie theater several years ago, the two men formed an immediate bond. Sharing a strong faith and belief in God, they set out to help others who have suffered spinal cord injuries — especially those, like themselves, who are victims of a violent act.

The Brother’s Keeper s.c.i. support group meets at 3 p.m. the second Friday of the month at The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis, 4455 Duncan Ave. For more information, or to contact the founders, call 314-435-3002 or visit www.brotherskeepersci.org.

Brother’s Keeper s.c.i. provides outreach in a variety of ways

— including one-on-one counseling, information and support through the organization’s Web site or fellowship through its monthly support group. The group provides help with job searches, finding educational opportunities or just providing someone who can listen.

The support group, which meets at 3 p.m. on the second Friday of each month at The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis, has become a place for Clark and Morris to interact directly with others and offer hope to victims and their loved ones.

“Terrence and Brandon were victims of violence and are able to show others there is a life after your accident,” says Barbara Burka, MSW, LCSW, social worker/case manager at The Rehab Institute. Burka and her colleagues often recommend Brother’s Keeper to their patients and have found the group’s involvement to be invaluable.

“The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis is a very sheltered environment. When an individual is an inpatient, the reality of the accident often doesn’t register — until they’re at home after discharge,” she says. “As social workers, we can’t really relate the way Terrence and Brandon can because they can speak from experience. They also make themselves available whenever we need them to visit a patient or talk to someone.”

Montray Brown of St. Louis, who suffered a spinal cord injury following a shooting when he was 15 years old, is a member of Brother’s Keeper. Thanks to the group, he has learned about GED courses and hopes to attend community college in the future.

“When you’re in a wheelchair, you’re feeling down,” he says. “They (Morris and Clark) lift your spirits and help keep you motivated. Seeing others in the same situation who are positive helps keep me positive. Young brothers don’t have a lot of support when they’re victims of violence.”

For this reason, another important form of outreach for Brother’s Keeper is visiting juvenile detention centers and letting young people see the results of gun violence.

“We felt like our organization was needed because there is no one else talking about the violence and what can happen,” says Clark. “We want them to see firsthand what it looks like and feels like to be in a wheelchair, not able to breathe on your own. We talk to them to try to prevent spinal cord injuries.”

Morris says it’s important to let these others know “their bodies could be impaired for life with violence. We are living proof of what could happen.”

“We do what we do because we love it,” adds Morris, who is now in school studying for a career in criminal justice. “We want to show others what can be done even though we have challenges.”

Both men readily admit that not everyone has support from family and friends like they’ve found, but they hope their group can help there as well.

“You just deal with what you’ve got,” Clark says. “You can have health, education and a life with a spinal cord injury.”

Becky Slatin, bslatin@bjc.org