During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Reeve Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center created a special grants category (COVID-19: Addressing Social Isolation) for non-profit organizations to address social isolation by providing programs and projects to support the physical and mental health of people living with paralysis.
Exercising and mindfulness are vital to everyone’s well-being, especially if a person is living with a disability such as a spinal cord injury (SCI). Sometimes, finding ways to connect with others socially, while maintaining mind and body health can be difficult.
When COVID-19 social isolation regulations were enacted, many people in the disability community were cut off from family, friends, and places they once had access to.
In 2001, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis (MPCP) created the "The Lifestyle Center at Jackson Health System" program at the Lynn Rehabilitation Center. The Center serves as a resource for exercise, nutrition counseling, and community integration.
At the start of the pandemic, the MPCP’s creators, Drs. Nash and Gant saw how the social isolation regulations affected their program participants. The Project identified four needed areas: exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, and peer support. With the help of a $44,000 grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the program became accessible remotely.
The program also includes a COVID Corner on the MPCP website. The COVID Corner supplies up-to-date risk assessments for COVID-19 in the disability community.
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis’s Lifestyle Center has used the grant money to build on and expand the Program’s offerings. The funding from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation allowed the Miami Project to expand existing online offerings that address the needs of their participants and their caregivers. Sessions included:
The Miami Project also offered students with or without disabilities internships to engage and lead program participants in exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness activities.