Official 501(c)(3) Non-Profit • Tax-Deductible Contributions • EIN 45-3658600
Programs & Field Work

Practical Help That Meets Families Where They Stand

Our three flagship programs grew from clinic waiting rooms, meal lines on Country Club Road, and late-night counseling calls—not from a brochure. Whether you need emergency relief after a brain injury shook your household, a weekend skills lab, or a steady presence for a young person or elder, we start with what you can carry this week.

Flagship Programs

Deep Dive: How We Serve

Each lane has a clear intake path, eligibility notes, and a human on the other end of the phone. Scroll a program, or jump straight to how support works below.

Family stabilization counseling session in a quiet room
Crisis Response

Family Stabilization & Crisis Relief

When rent is due, the refrigerator is thin, or a partner’s traumatic brain injury has turned the household upside down, we move first and paper later. Emergency grants cover short-term essentials—groceries, utility bridges, and one-time transport to medical appointments—while a counselor helps the family map the next thirty days without shame.

TBI-affected households often arrive exhausted: sleep fractured, paperwork unfinished, and friends unsure how to help. Our stabilization team pairs financial counseling with practical referrals so caregivers are not left decoding insurance alone at midnight.

Schedules & eligibility. Intake calls are answered Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET, with limited evening slots for urgent cases. Priority goes to New Canaan and Fairfield County residents facing documented hardship, including job loss, medical shock, or caregiving after a brain injury. Grants are need-based, capped per household per quarter, and require a brief verification conversation—not a stack of notarized forms. Form 990 transparency and stewardship questions go to admin@iwtbicharity.org.

Start Intake
Adults learning digital skills together in a community workshop
Workforce

Community Career & Skills Workshops

Weekend labs are where résumés get finished on borrowed laptops and someone finally explains how to attach a PDF without panic. We host digital-skills sessions, employer introductions, and career coaching for workers rebuilding after layoffs, caregiving pauses, or the cognitive fog that can follow a brain injury.

Classes stay small on purpose. Instructors leave room for questions that never fit a webinar chat: how to disclose a medical leave, how to ask for flexible hours, how to practice a phone interview when light sensitivity is real. Alumni often return as peer mentors for the next cohort.

Schedules & eligibility. Workshops typically run Saturday mornings and select weekday evenings in New Canaan and nearby partner sites. Registration opens three weeks ahead; seats are free for qualifying households. Bring what you have—phone, notebook, or nothing—and we will meet you there. Calendar notices go out through our volunteer briefings and the contact form.

Ask About the Next Lab
Youth and seniors gathering for community care activities
Care Continuum

Youth & Senior Care Outreach

Isolation does quiet damage. This lane keeps eyes on elders who skip meals when mobility slips, and on children who need a steady adult after school when a parent is in rehab or managing post-injury fatigue. Nutrition check-ins, routine wellness visits, and low-key social gatherings turn “Are you okay?” into a recurring appointment.

Youth mentors tutor, walk kids home from the library, and sit through the hard afternoons without fixing every story. Senior volunteers deliver pantry bags, notice when a porch light stays off, and call Principal Officer Richard Lindquist’s office when something looks wrong—so neighbors are never left guessing alone.

Schedules & eligibility. Outreach runs year-round with weekly visit routes and monthly community tables. Families and caregivers in the New Canaan corridor may request a wellness check or mentoring match. Matching depends on volunteer availability and safety screening; we do not place minors without guardian consent and a clear schedule.

Request Care Outreach
Intake Path

How to Get Support

No maze. Four steps from first message to a real plan. If you are in immediate danger, call local emergency services first—then reach us when you are safe.

1

Tell us what is happening

Use the contact form or email admin@iwtbicharity.org. Name the pressure—rent, food, counseling, caregiving—and the town you are in.

2

Short intake call

A coordinator confirms eligibility, asks what already tried, and explains what we can fund or schedule this cycle.

3

Match to a program lane

Stabilization grants, workshop seats, or care outreach—sometimes more than one. You leave with dates, not vague promises.

4

Follow-through & check-in

We confirm delivery, note what still hurts, and keep the door open for a second round if the board’s stewardship rules allow.

Begin Intake on Contact Page
What to Expect

Honest Limits, Clear Next Steps

We cannot solve every bill overnight. We can stabilize a week, book a counseling slot, or hold a seat in Saturday’s lab while you catch your breath. Responses usually arrive within two business days; urgent meal and utility cases move faster when inventory allows.

Donors fund this work under EIN 45-3658600. Household data stays confidential. Questions about Form 990 inspection under IRC Section 6104 may be sent in writing to our New Canaan office or to the email above.

Module 4 · Volunteer Onboarding

Bring a Skill. We’ll Find the Shift.

Before full onboarding on the contact page, skim the skill lanes we staff most often. Orientation covers safety, confidentiality, and how we talk about brain injury without reducing anyone to a diagnosis.

Dispatch volunteers triage intake notes. Food logistics crews pack New Canaan meal distributions. Mentors commit to a consistent weekly hour. Digital and administrative partners keep donor acknowledgments, workshop rosters, and accessibility checklists current.

Continue to Volunteer Intake →
Neighbor Voices

What Support Felt Like

Names abbreviated for privacy. The work is real—meal tables, weekend labs, and counseling calls that did not hang up early.

Portrait of Maria R.
“After my sister’s injury, the New Canaan meal distributions were the only night I did not cook on empty. A counselor called the next morning and stayed on the line until the utility shutoff notice made sense.”
Maria R. · Caregiver, New Canaan
Portrait of James T.
“I walked into a weekend workshop with a half-finished résumé and left with a practice interview and a printer friend. Nobody rushed me when I needed the lights dimmed.”
James T. · Workshop alumnus
Portrait of Denise L.
“The counseling calls did not preach. They asked who else was hungry in the house, then booked a care check for my mother. That order—food first, forms second—kept us from disappearing.”
Denise L. · Stabilization participant