Programs that are aimed at improving quality of life following serious injury can apply for a share of $4 million in funding from the icare foundation.

Through the Quality of Life Fund, icare is looking at funding initiatives for people living with serious injuries. It is especially interested in programs that provide emotional and practical support for carers, post-injury living and fostering social connections.

Interim General Manager for the icare foundation, Barney Smith, said: “We’re looking for ideas that could make a tangible difference to the lives of people who are seriously injured in NSW and the people that care for them.

“Together, we’ll co-create new solutions to ensure that these people and their families get the support and services they need.”

The foundation is looking for ideas that positively impact people living with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury or any other significant and complex psychological needs related to workplace or motor accident injuries.

The successful applicants have the opportunity to co-design with icare staff and social innovation experts to refine initiatives and see it implemented.

“Every year people suffer from serious injuries at work and on NSW roads,” Smith said. “These people’s lives change in an instant. Navigating the immediate after effects and then adjusting to injury takes time, persistence and a lot of support.

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“People with serious injuries face trials that most don’t have to deal with – there can be a loss of meaning and purpose in their lives, and they often have to deal with chronic pain. We know that, for example, 50 per cent of people in our Lifetime Care scheme with a brain injury suffer from ongoing depression and anxiety.”

The foundation is looking for organisations from socially focused start-ups to long-term established businesses and social service organisations who can bring innovation to the table. The proposal must have a clear quality of life focus and have the potential to impact people seriously injured in workplace or motor accidents.

Initiatives that focus on the following will be favoured:

• Provide practical and/or emotional support for carers and families to better support the seriously injured person;
• Enrich life and provide a renewed sense of value and purpose for people living with serious injury;
• Assist people (and their families) to adapt to life post-injury;
• Help people to manage chronic pain effectively, or;
• Foster social connection and inclusiveness

“By targeting five fields, we believe we can spread impact across the key areas where people are struggling the most to create real, practical and effective solutions now and into the future,” Smith said.

“Whether you’re a community organisation, a not-for-profit, social enterprise or simply someone whose got a great idea to make a real difference in this space, we want to hear from you.”