Maggie Cooper tells ANDREA COLLITT how a coffee evening led to the formation of Headway Essex, a charity which has grown over the years and now, with just 20 paid staff and an army of volunteers, supports brain-damaged survivors and their loved ones get their lives back on track IT started over coffee. Now 30 years on, Headway Essex is supporting more than 400 people a year who are either brain injury survivors, their carers or family members.

With just 20 paid staff, its army of 80 volunteers are essential to its success.

Maggie Cooper is one of those and has been heavily involved with the charity since the meeting over coffee brought about its inception in 1985.

Her involvement came about while she was working at Colchester General Hospital as a speech and language therapist in charge of adult services.

She said: “I had treated people with acquired brain injury and strokes.

“The occupational therapist I used to work with and the wife of one of my patients decided to put on a coffee evening at the old St Mary’s Hospital.

“Forty people turned up out of the blue. We realised how lacking in support these people were.

“We had a man with a brain tumour and his wife turn up.

Some came from other parts of Essex. “We started to have regular coffee meetings and some small outings.”

The volunteers realised they need a more permanent base and in 1987 leased a small bungalow on the former Severalls Hospital site. The centre opened for two days a week with one employed part-time co-ordinator supported by volunteers.

Five years later, the day centre was open five days a week, with it doubling in size the following year. By the late Nineties the charity leased a building in Head Street, Colchester, to concentrate on its fundraising.

Mrs Cooper was the charity’s committee chairman and remained in that role for 12 years.

A lottery grant in 2005 allowed Headway to increase the size of the day centre and add facilities, such as the vital Life After Brain Injury groups and carers support group. In those days, the charity was known as Colchester and North East Essex Headway.

Mrs Cooper continued to volunteer by running afternoon support groups to help patients rediscover social interaction skills.

Now she volunteers at the Headway centre running the education group. This role sees her help patients with social interaction, reading and writing.

Mrs Cooper said: “I have an addiction to speech and language therapy. Somany people avoid the patients because of their social inappropriateness.

“They are called the walking wounded because they don't look disabled. They are so young, I feel very much they need our support.

“It was the hidden disability that drew me to Headway. I love working with the staff and it is a joy to go there every Thursday. It is not the disability, it is what you do with it afterwards.

“Relatives need our support because they have got to accept their child or husband or wife is not the same anymore.”

Headway Essex not only offers the survivors of brain injuries and their families emotional and practical support.

In addition to its support workers, care officers and day centre staff, it works with social workers, physiotherapists and GPs By 2013/14, the group’s total income topped £660,000 and more than 400 individuals a year receive support.

The charity also holds a number of fundraising events to help support its services including the Onesie Runsie and Colour5k paint run.

The Colchester Half Marathon in March, organised by the Colchester Colne Round Table, was also in aid of Headway Essex.

! On September 19 Headway, will be holding a 30th anniversary party at Playgolf, Bakers Lane, Colchester, from 6.30pm to midnight.

Get details and tickets from headwayessex.org.uk