For Leslie Meyer, like others with acquired brain injury in the Blacktown area, Anglicare's Westlink Head Injury Recreation & Leisure Service (Whirls) has been a Godsend.

For more than 13 years the Anglicare run program has been helping adults with acquired brain injuries access their community.

Now this much loved service urgently requires more volunteers who can offer their time and friendship.

According to Leslie Meyer, who has been coming to Whirls for the last 8 years, the program has been wonderful.

When she lost much of her speech and mobility through a stroke, she had found that many of her old friends could not cope with her disability and stopped calling.

For Leslie, Whirls has provided her with a friendship network where she feels accepted and understood.

According to Teresa O'Connell, Anglicare Whirls Co-ordinator, the program exists to show participants that they are not alone and offers them a chance to meet others with similar challenges.

"People with acquired brain injury encounter isolation, frustration and sometimes depression," says Ms O'Connell.

"A person with more severe disabilities needs to have constant supervision.  Higher functioning people with an acquired brain injury find that the hopes and plans they had when they first leave hospital are dashed,” she says. 

“As they try to get back into their old lives they find that they are no longer able to do what they were originally able to. This places enormous pressure on families.

"Anglicare Whirls gives the families that much needed break and a place where participants do not feel different."

The focus of the group is to go on community outings " movies, barbeques, museums, picnics with support and encouragement from Anglicare Staff and a small band of volunteers.

For more information on volunteering for the Whirls program phone Teresa O’Connell on 8805 0945.