Headway East Northants, based in Irthlingborough, is an independent registered charity, providing specialist services for people aged 18 and over with an acquired brain injury.
The charity was originally a community-based service but was incorporated on 1st July 1999 (company number 03788049). Additionally, we are affiliated to Headway UK, the brain injury association.
We are incredibly proud of our team of staff and volunteers, and of course our fantastic clients and their families. We have a super range of facilities aimed to interest, stimulate and socialise our client base.
We really do aim to provide something for everyone, whether it’s getting hands-on in our woodwork construction room, ‘having a go’ with a musical instrument, or creating something amazing in our art workshop. Everyone is encouraged, supported and, above all, valued.
We provide information, signposting and both practical and emotional support services for people with Acquired Brain Injury (‘ABI’), their families and carers.
If you’d like to visit us, and see all this for yourself, you can be guaranteed a warm welcome at Headway East Northants! We’re always happy to welcome visitors to our centre for a look around and a chat. If this is of interest, please do get in touch.
Our Mission at Headway East Northants
To promote an understanding and awareness of brain injury.
To provide quality information, services and support to brain injury survivors in the community, including their families and carers.
To offer a safe, welcoming and non-judgmental environment for brain injury survivors in which to socialise, relearn and regain lost skills, and be a valued and included individual.
Our Aims and Objectives:
To provide quality information and support for the people in our community with a brain injury, and their families/carers.
To ensure our that our services meet the needs of those with a brain injury, and that those specialist services are of the quality they deserve.
To provide a place where people with a brain injury can come to be with others who understand, and a place where they can gain support from each other without judgment or impatience.
To enable people with a brain injury to remain in their own homes and continue to be a part of the community in which they live.
To work with, and build relationships with, all our stakeholders to ensure that our services change, develop and grow in line with changing needs.
To increase awareness of brain injury and its consequences in our community.
How we can Help
If you or someone close to you has sustained a brain injury, Headway East Northants is here to give you information, help and support, both practically and emotionally.
The charity has an Activity Centre which offers a varied and interesting range of services. We offer a person-centred service that understands the complexities of ‘the hidden disability’ and the problems that may arise with cognitive, memory, communication and behaviour.
Our Team
Our Trustees
Dr Keith Jenkins, Chair Dr Keith Jenkins is a Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist, based within St Andrews Healthcare. He is passionate about providing the highest level of specialist support and services to people living with an acquired brain injury through the work of Headway East Northants.
Lynne Couzens, Secretary Prior to her retirement, Lynne Couzens worked as a Speech & Language Therapist within St Andrews Healthcare. Lynne brings with her a wealth of skills and experience, having worked directly with survivors of acquired brain injury.
Wilson Paterson, Treasurer Combining a solid background in finance and the ‘lived experience’ of having a loved one with an acquired brain injury, Wilson Paterson brings with him a comprehensive professional skills set and invaluable personal experience to our Board of Trustees. He is also a Volunteer at Headway East Northants, leading our two weekly Peer Support groups.
Tim Samples, Trustee As well as being a trustee of Headway East Northants, Tim Samples is also both a client and volunteer, assisting with our Thursday Peer Support group. As a survivor of acquired brain injury himself following diagnosis of benign brain tumours, Tim brings with him vital ‘lived experience’ of managing life with an acquired brain injury, and the multifaceted changes and challenges that an individual and a family can experience.
Emily Topliss, Trustee From a high-level background in health and safety consultancy, Emily also brings personal, first-hand experience of acquired brain injury. Having survived a serious stroke while working abroad, and undergoing subsequent surgery, Emily now works as a Peer Support Worker within the Community Stroke Team of Northampton General Hospital. Emily is proud to refer to herself as a “stroke thriver” and is passionate about ensuring that all survivors of acquired brain injury experience independence, respect and social inclusion.
Nigel Hobbs, Trustee As well as his Trustee capacity, Nigel also devotes three full days per week volunteering at our centre, spending quality time with our clients and using his broad range of skills and interests to lead engaging, rewarding sessions for our clients. Nigel also brings with him a personal, ‘lived experienced’ of acquired brain injury, having not only cared for a close family member with a childhood brain injury, but also having recovered from a stroke himself in 2022.
Sharine Burgess, Trustee Having been appointed joint head of Shoosmiths Solicitors of Northampton in 2021, Sharine is a partner within the Serious Injury department and heads the Personal Injury team. Sharine has almost 20 years of handling complex cases on behalf of claimants with acquired brain injury, ensuring that survivors are treated with dignity and respect. She continues to serve as a council member for the Northamptonshire Law Society, and also works closely with the Acquired Brain Injury Forum Northants (ABIF Northants).
