Reintegration to Community
Leisure and Recreation
Community Exercise Programs
You may also wish to see “Stroke-specific exercise programs“
March of Dimes
This webpage describes the Online Exercise and Movement Programs, a list of programs available virtually during the pandemic.
Healthline
This webpage provides listings for various exercise and fall prevention programs, available in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brantford region.
Community Recreation Programs
March of Dimes
This webpage provides information on accessible travel services and virtual, social events for stroke survivors.
Access 2 Card
An Access 2 Card provides free or discounted admission for the care partner of a person with disability.
Healthline
This webpage provides listings for recreational programs for those with acquired brain injury and/or disabilities.
Volunteer Opportunities
March of Dimes’ DesignAbility
DesignAbility volunteers help individuals overcome barriers to daily living by helping to design and construct assistive devices and furniture.
March of Dimes’ Peer Support
The March of Dimes helps to connect stroke survivors to peer volunteers. There are a number of other opportunities to volunteer listed at this link.
Heart & Stroke Volunteers
The Heart & Stroke provides a list of volunteer opportunities, listed at the link below.
Hobbies
Ebooks
The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) links to your library institution to provide access to audible and digital books.
Podcasts
Click the following bullets to view and listen to some stroke-specific podcasts.
Support Groups
Stroke-specific exercise programs
Fitness And Mobility Exercise (FAME)
This is a stroke recovery program with instructions and videos on how to do rehabilitation exercises at home.
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes offers the Conductive Education (CE) Program. It is a rehabilitation and mobility program that aims to help stroke survivors increase their independence and mobility.
Aphasia and Communication Programs
Lingraphica
Virtual Connections is a free online program that creates an opportunity to connect and practice communication skills with others. Sessions are facilitated by speech-language pathologists, music therapists, and aphasia experts.
March of Dimes
This webpage provides information about Aphasia Peer Connect, which is a social group for individuals in the community with aphasia.
Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd offers the SAM Aphasia Program. This is a group program, led by a speech language pathologist, for those living with aphasia. It is based in Hamilton.
Niagara Region
Niagara Region offers an adult day program for older adults in Niagara. There is an aphasia-specific extension of this program.
Living with Stroke Programs
March of Dimes:
Peer Support Groups
This March of Dimes webpage details peer support groups for stroke survivors.
March of Dimes:
Living with Stroke Group
March of Dimes’ LIFE Toronto program is a free, online program for stroke survivors to meet and learn from others who have had a stroke.
Survivors of Stroke Niagara
Survivors of Stroke Niagara helps connect and support stroke survivors through meetings and events in the Niagara region.
Stroke Survivors and Care Partner Programs
Please also see Social Supports by clicking this text.
Healthline
This webpage lists support groups, offered to the care partners of stroke survivors in Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brantford.
March of Dimes
This March of Dimes webpage provides information on support groups and programs for care partners of stroke survivors.
Victorian Order of Nurses
The Victorian Order of Nurses offers educational workshops for care partners of stroke survivors.
Community Services
Supportive Counselling
This Healthline webpage provides links to crisis helplines, friendly visiting services, and counselling resources available in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brandtford region.
Social Supports
There are various Facebook groups that connect stroke survivors to one another. Stroke survivors can log into their Facebook account and type the following groups names into their Facebook search bar:
- Community of Stroke Survivors
- Stroke Buddies by and for Stroke Survivors
- Stroke Survivors- Have Questions? Ask Other Survivors
- Stroke Survivors Support
- Hamilton Young Stroke Survivors
This Healthline webpage provides a list of social supports, including support groups, as well as programs for meeting new people and recreation.
Stroke Recovery Canada‘s phone line connects survivors and care partners to someone who has been through a similar circumstance.
1-888-540-6666
For more social supports, you may also see our Support Group section by clicking this text.
Spiritual Supports
eMentalHealth provides listings of spiritual support groups available in the Hamilton area.
Brain Injury Resources
This webpage by the March of Dimes provides information on housing and support groups for those with brain injury.
Adult Day Programs
The Healthline webpage provides links to various day programs offered in Hamilton-Niagara-Haldimand-Brantford region.
The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) offers adult day programs for those recovering in the community.
Niagara Region Seniors Services offers community day programs for older adults. Phone: 905-984-2621
Aphasia programs
This March of Dimes‘ webpage provides information about support programs (retreats, peer connect groups) for those with aphasia.
For more aphsia programs, you can also visit our “Aphasia and Communication Support” section by clicking this text.
Behaviour Management Supports
This Healthline webpage provides contact information for behaviour management supports for older adults and those with acquired brain injury in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brantford region.
The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal provides blog posts and videos for older adults. The articles cover topics, such as mobility, lifestyle, and financial wellness.
For more behaviour management supports, please also see the “Self-Management Programs” section by clicking this text
Financial Supports
This Heart & Stroke webpage describes financial and legal supports available to those post-stroke.
This Healthline webpage provides information on financial resources available in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brantford region.
Ontario Works is a program that provides financial and employment assistance to individuals living with disability.
The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) helps people with disabilities who are in financial need pay for living expenses, like food and housing.
The Canadian Revenue Agency offers a Disability Tax Credit to individuals that are living with disability.
The Canadian Revenue Agency offers the Registered Disability Savings Plan to help people save for the long term financial security of a person who is eligible for the disability tax credit (see above).
Group Dining Programs
This Healthline webpage provides information on group dining programs available in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brantford region.
Cultural Centres and Supports
The Healthline provides contact information for ethnocultural groups available in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brantford region.
Self-management programs
The Take Control Take Charge offers free self-management program online for those recovering in the community.
The Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery provides videos and resource sheets to help stroke survivors learn to manage fatigue, memory, anxiety, stress, attention, communication, leisure, and more.
StrokEngine provides resources to help stroke survivors learn more about their stroke and various self-management strategies.
Return to Driving training
Drive Again provides driver rehabilitation services to those with disabilities. Their program is offered in the Niagara and Burlington regions.
The March of Dimes webpage provides information on vehicle adjustments that can be made for those with disabilities.
The Canadian Red Cross provides transportation service for those in need. Their service provides affordable transportation to medical appointments, as well as to social gatherings and errands.
Niagara: (905) 680-4099
Hamilton: (905) 522-8485
Employment and Education
Employment Services
March of Dimes
This webpage provides the contact information for the March of Dimes employment service, which provides job training and employment opportunities for those living with disability.
PATH Employment Services
Path Employment Services is a non-profit organization that helps individuals with disabilities find employment opportunities. They also provide job training and counselling.
Heart & Stroke
This webpage provides a list of employment services that are available to individuals post-stroke by province.
Ongoing Education Support
Home and Community Care
(At School)
This webpage provides attendant services for children and youth, returning to school.
Regional Stroke Networks
These regional stroke network websites provide information for stroke survivors and care partners to continue to learn about stroke.
Ongoing Medical Follow-up
You may also find it useful to visit the Transition subpage for more ongoing medical follow-up resources. Click here to visit the Transition subpage.
Stroke Prevention Clinic
This webpage provides information about the Hamilton Health Sciences‘ Stroke Prevention Clinic.
Greater Niagara Stroke Prevention Clinic
Niagara District Stroke Centre is a regional service at Greater Niagara General Site in Niagara Falls. It offers several programs for both acute stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA).
Patient-Oriented Discharge Summary (PODS)
This document is a fillable discharge summary sheet. Stroke survivors and care partners may find useful for taking notes in the hospital or clinic that they can later refer to at home.
Family Doctor
The Hamilton Family Health Team helps individuals in Hamilton connect with a family physician.
Telehealth Ontario
Phoneline
The government of Ontario offers non-emergency medical advice through their 24/7 phone service:
1-866-797-0000
Care Partner Wellness
Each stage in the stroke journey map has a check box for “Care Partner Wellness check.” Below are some resources that may be useful for care partners of individuals with stroke.
Healthline
This webpage lists support groups, offered to the care partners of stroke survivors in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brantford region.
Heart & Stroke
When individuals click “Ontario” on this website, a list of resources, such as the Victorian Order of Nurses’ Caregiver education program, The Caregiver Exchange, and Ontario Caregiver Organization will be brought up.
March of Dimes
This website provides information, support groups, and other resources available to care partners of individuals with stroke.