Colorado recognizes March as Brain Injury Awareness Month
DENVER (March 3, 2025) — More than 5,000 Coloradans are hospitalized with a brain injury each year and more than a half-million Coloradans are living with a brain injury. This month, the MINDSOURCE Brain Injury Network, within the Colorado Department of Human Services, is celebrating March as Brain Injury Awareness Month, which focuses on prevention and how communities can support people living with brain injuries.
MINDSOURCE supports people with brain injury in three core ways. As the lead state agency on brain injury, MINDSOURCE:
- Supports organizations to learn about, screen for and provide support strategies for brain injuries at no additional cost to them or their clients;
- Manages and implements specialized grants; and
- Administers the Brain Injury Trust Fund and Board, which funds services for Coloradans to get specialized treatment, and research and community grants to raise awareness of brain injuries, needs and effective services.
MINDSOURCE also runs the Colorado Brain Injury Advisory Council to execute the Colorado State Plan on Brain Injuries to develop seamless access to support services for all Coloradans with a brain injury. The Council is currently working on the development of several resources, including a hospital transition plan, health passport, and return-to-work guide for brain injury survivors.
“Brain injuries can impact anyone,” said Russha Knauer, director of MINDSOURCE. “Brain Injury Awareness Month brings understanding on how vital brain function is, how people can avoid brain injuries, and provides resources for the hundreds of thousands of Coloradans living with the life-altering effects of an injury to the brain.”
Colorado ranks ninth in the nation for deaths due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). In an effort to increase awareness of brain injuries, the Brain Injury Association of Colorado (BIAC) and the Arc of Colorado will host the Unmasking Project at the State Capitol on March 6 in conjunction with Disability Rights Advocacy Day.
The Unmasking Project is an event where survivors create and display masks that artistically represent their personal experiences with brain injury. The masks reflect how survivors share their stories and build understanding with others.
“MINDSOURCE elevates the voices and lived expertise of the brain injury community, giving them an innovative system of support which allows them to thrive whatever their needs are,” said Minna Castillo, deputy executive director of Community Partnerships.
MINDSOURCE strives to enhance the quality of life for everyone in Colorado living with or affected by brain injury, and their communities. Housed within CDHS, MINDSOURCE serves as the umbrella entity for three distinct programs/functions: MINDSOURCE manages the Colorado Brain Injury Trust Fund, provides training and technical assistance regarding brain injury for public and private entities, and facilitates the Colorado Advisory Council on Brain Injuries and the implementation of the Colorado State Plan on Brain Injuries.
According to the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado, Colorado defines brain injury as: “Damage to the brain from an internal or external source, including, but not limited to, a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), that occurs post-birth and is noncongenital, nondegenerative, and nonhereditary, resulting in partial or total functional impairment in one or more areas, including, but not limited to, attention, memory, reasoning, problem solving, speed of processing, decision-making, learning, perception, sensory impairment, speech and language, motor and physical functioning, or psychological behavior.”
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