Speak Up for Brain Injury Survivors in South Carolina

Written By Joyce Davis

BIASC urgently needs your voice.

This year, the South Carolina General Assembly eliminated individual budget earmarks without offering alternative funding solutions. As a result, vital community-based nonprofits like BIASC are at risk. Compounding the issue, federal cuts are slashing the already limited resources available to support brain injury survivors and their families.

Each year, over a million South Carolinians experience a brain injury or stroke. Tens of thousands live with long-term effects—and many fall through the cracks of our healthcare and state systems. BIASC is the only statewide nonprofit solely focused on helping them rebuild their lives.

We are asking the General Assembly to restore $275,000 in funding for BIASC in the FY2026 budget—just enough to maintain the essential services that thousands across the state rely on.

Your legislators need to hear from you. Please review the key reasons below that this funding is so critical—then contact your lawmakers and ask them to restore funding for BIASC. Together, we can keep these life-changing services in place.

“Every day, we hear from families who are overwhelmed, scared, and unsure where to turn after a brain injury. BIASC is often their only support system. Without this funding, many of these families will be left to navigate these difficult moments alone.” — Joyce Davis, Executive Director, BIASC

Why We’re Speaking Out

  • The General Assembly’s elimination of individual earmarks, without alternatives, puts nonprofits like BIASC in immediate jeopardy.

  • BIASC grant funds will be significantly reduced due to federal programs being cut.

Why BIASC Matters

  • Everyone knows someone impacted by BI (brain injury). It affects your friends, family, coworkers, and constituents.

  • Each year, 1.2 million South Carolinians experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke. Over 209,000 live with long-term disability, not including injuries from overdose, intimate partner violence, or cardiac arrest.

  • Many of these individuals do not qualify for SC Department of Disability and Special Needs (SCDDSN) or SC Vocational Rehabilitation Department (SCVRD) services

  • BIASC is the only statewide nonprofit solely dedicated to helping brain injury survivors and their families navigate life after injury.

  • We are a community-based safety net, offering long-term support where hospitals and rehabilitation facilities leave off (if they are fortunate enough to go to rehabilitation).

  • Once built, the new USC Hospital and Rehabilitation Center will be a wonderful asset to our state (BIASC fully intends to collaborate with them), but BIASC is already on the ground helping people today.

What will be lost without this funding?

Without legislative support, BIASC will be forced to cut programs like:

  • Our statewide Life with Brain Injury Annual Conference, including survivor and caregiver scholarships.

  • Our Free Help Line and Neuro Resource Facilitation program.

  • TBI Resource Kits for Level I trauma centers statewide.

  • Support Groups, therapeutic yoga and art classes, and online wellness.

  • Brain Injury Fundamentals and Certified Brain Injury Specialist trainings.

  • Pediatric concussion education in schools.

  • Programs for veterans, overdose survivors, and victims of intimate partner violence.

Why This Funding Is Justified

  • South Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation and we are facing 2025-level needs with 2012-level funding.

  • BIASC programs are not duplicated by any state agency and offer an extremely cost-effective return.

What We Need

  • We are asking for $275,000 to maintain, not expand, our current programs, services South Carolinians already rely on.

  • Recognition of BIASC as an essential, cost-effective partner in public health and rehabilitation.

  • Funding for what works. BIASC has helped thousands return to work, school, and life. These are not luxury services—they are lifelines.

Tell Your Lawmakers

  • “Please restore funding for BIASC and its vital programs in the final budget.”

  • “Help us keep these programs alive. Without this funding, many families in your district will be left with nowhere to turn.”

Please contact your SC representative and senator today and ask them to restore funding for BIASC and its vital programs.
Not sure who your SC Representative and SC Senator are? Find out now. 
Senate: Email Senators | Find Your Senator
House: Email Representatives | Find Your Representative

Use the customizable email template and telephone script below when contacting your Senator and Representative. 

Joyce Davis
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