Empire-Advance

    Royal Purple chapters across Manitoba have committed financial resources to support the Purple Thursday campaign, funding literature and information packages about intimate partner violence and brain injury that are distributed to shelters. This information explains that repeated physical abuse can have increasingly severe consequences, and that early intervention is vital.

    Brain injury affects individuals and the community, and on Saturday, May 3 Virden Royal Purple hosted an event in St. Paul’s United Church to raise awareness about the problem.

Elementary and high school students submitted posters that presented brain injury information in an organized and attractive way. Winners from the poster contest will be featured in a future issue.

    Karen Thomas, volunteer program facilitator with the Manitoba Brain Injury Association and the Manitoba President for the Canadian Royal Purple presented a wealth of information about the different causes of brain injury and how each type has different symptoms that require different treatments.

    Thomas explained that acquired brain injuries fall into two broad categories: traumatic and non-traumatic. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are more widely recognized and typically result from external mechanical forces.

    Examples include motor vehicle accidents, falls, assaults (including intimate partner violence), sports injuries, bullet wounds, and blast injuries. These injuries occur when the head is violently jarred, causing the soft, jelly-like brain to move within the skull and potentially suffer from internal cuts, hemorrhages, or pressure damage. Such injuries can be fatal even when initial symptoms appear mild.

    Symptoms include nausea, blurred vision, slurred speech, disorientation, sensitivity to light, and changes in pupil dilation. Sometimes symptoms are not immediately obvious but, in those situations, a second impact can be catastrophic.

    Non-traumatic brain injuries are those not caused by an external blow to the head but by strokes, aneurysms and lack of oxygen. Strokes are increasingly common among younger people due to sedentary lifestyles and poor diets. According to Thomas, aneurysms often strike without warning and are related to stress and abnormalities in blood vessels.

    Injuries occur when the brain is deprived of oxygen. These injuries can result from drug overdoses or attempted suicide by strangulation. Thomas said, “Lack of oxygen for four to six minutes is all it takes to have brain damage. And while it might kill you, there are some things that are worse than death.” Repeated drug overdoses, particularly involving opioids like fentanyl can cause permanent damage.

    Another serious cause of brain injury can be found in intimate partner violence. Thomas spoke of her work in a women’s shelter in 1992 when many women exhibited signs of brain trauma including fatigue, disorientation and memory loss that went unrecognized due to a lack of awareness. These women were often judged harshly for “neglecting” their children or failing to keep appointments, when in fact they were cognitively impaired. Because brain injury wasn’t well understood at the time, their testimonies were frequently dismissed by police and the legal system. Thomas added, “I didn't even know brain injury was a thing… if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have gone ‘why can't you wake up and take care of your kids?’ I would have got the person more help.”

    The brain’s frontal lobe is the most vulnerable to injury. This area is responsible for planning, judgement, and moral reasoning. Drugs and alcohol affect this area and cause poor judgement and risky behaviour. Damage to the frontal lobe can cause similar symptoms in people with brain injuries, even without intoxication.

    Thomas concluded her presentation saying, “Virden (chapter) has donated thousands and thousands of dollars to the community. To hospitals, to schools, playground structures, you name it. You guys have done everything. And everything you do promotes health.”

Principal’s perspective

    Virden Collegiate Institute (VCI) principal Mark Keown brought another perspective and described the dramatic increase in violence and abuse within the division. He noted that 6.2 million women aged 15 or older, have experienced psychological, physical, or sexual abuse while in intimate relationships. With 80% of these cases going unreported, the actual scope of the issue is likely much larger and Keown emphasized that this includes students.

    Often abuse is not reported because of stigma, shame, fear of legal consequences and distrust in available support systems. He stressed that relationships with students, families, and communities are critical for addressing these issues.

    The school's official policies make it clear that violence or threats of violence will not be tolerated in any school-related context, including off-campus and online incidents. Staff and students must report high-risk behaviours, and the school has a legal and ethical responsibility to act on the information regardless of where or when it occurs.

    When a violent or traumatic event is reported the school division is notified, and an external team is brought in to eliminate bias. This team conducts a comprehensive intervention, interviewing the student in question, potential victims, families, and others to form a full picture.

    These teams identify several behaviour patterns found in these situations. They are often a cry for help where the students act out due to a lack of meaningful relationships and emotional support.

    Keown stated that group dynamics are often a factor. He said, “They usually have one person that we call the puppeteer. They're controlling the scenario, yet they're not doing the dirty work. They're not the ones getting caught.”

    Keown emphasized that an adolescent’s emotions can swing rapidly between impulses toward violence and thoughts of suicide. Identifying a student’s baseline state of mind is critical to stabilize these extremes and this can only happen once a relationship is formed between student, parent and school.

    As VCI principal, Keown sees a critical gap in mental health resources within the school system. Currently, the school has only a part-time guidance counsellor on-site, supported by a divisional counsellor who services all nine schools in the division and is available at the high school just two days a week. Previously, an adolescent mental health worker would visit weekly, but that position is no longer filled.

    Keown said, “Probably the biggest thing on our mental health plan is our connectivity list. (It’s) an intervention method where every student in our building has an adult who is their go-to person.” He notes that in some cases, students choose the adult, while in others, staff members identify students they have established relationships with. This initiative aims to provide every student with a reliable point of support within the school.

    Keown concluded his presentation saying, “Our kids turn out to be the adults down the road, so I appreciate the fact that you guys do have them on your radar screen as an important group to work with. They are the future, and we need to continue to try and support them as best we can.”