Spinal Cord Injury Network - Chapter History

Spinal Cord Injury Network

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SCI Network had its genesis around several local kitchen tables, including that of Fred Fay, about forty years ago. The core purpose of the original band, then as now, was to help newly injured individuals and their families find their way through the bewildering avalanche of information thrust at them, and to provide emotional support to both the injured person and his/her family. The group went through several name changes, and in 1982 was finally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in DC, Maryland and Virginia. SCI Network has had office space on the Metro in downtown Rockville since 1988.

The Network Provides information and referral, advocacy and visitation, peer and family support groups, and attendant care referrals from our Personal Assistant Registry for persons with mobility impairing conditions. We also operate an art gallery in which artists with and without disabilities display and sell their work. Although services are provided primarily to the Washington Metropolitan area, it is not uncommon to furnish information and referral throughout the Mid-Atlantic. We sponsor, and are the fiscal agent for, the Kessler Rolling Knights, the best damn wheelchair basketball team in the world. In order to keep our members, a mailing list of approximately 1500 persons informed and up-to-date on the developments in technology, medicine and especially legislation affecting our community, we publish a monthly newsletter: The SCI CONNECTOR.

Despite the many service and health-related providers in the Washington area, no comparable consumer service agencies or nonprofit corporations attends specifically to the interests of individuals with spinal cord injury/disease and related injuries. We at the SCI Network have the knowledge and firsthand experience to support individuals in their efforts, and to support businesses, local governments and communities in their efforts on behalf of people with disabilities. The uniqueness of our organizational membership makes us the natural spokespersons regarding spinal cord injury related issues.

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