Arizona Burn Foundation has announced they have been selected as a grant recipient from Thunderbirds Charities, the charitable giving arm of The Thunderbirds – hosts of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The Arizona Burn Foundation exists to improve the quality of life of burn survivors and their families while promoting burn prevention advocacy and education in Arizona.

Serving the Arizona community since 1967, ABF provides survivor support programs that help children and adults cope with the devastating psychological and physical effects of their injuries, according to a press release.

They assist burn survivors and their families from crisis to recovery to a life of thriving, one day at a time. All ABF services are provided free of charge.

Physical and emotional scars of a severe burn injury may never completely disappear and can be extremely challenging to work through, causing a survivor to feel separated from the life they had before the injury.

ABF’s H.O.P.E. Services (Helping Others, Promoting Empowerment), encompasses all of the services and programs provided to burn survivors and their families. This includes:

• Crisis – lodging, transportation, meal vouchers, medical cost assistance, and emotional support;
• Recovery – peer support group, limited financial assistance, camps, retreats, and physical, occupational, and psychological therapy support;
• Thrive – leadership development, conferences, opportunities to give back to the community, and social gatherings.

To best serve clients, ABF employs two full-time social workers who hold office hours at the Arizona Burn Center hospital establishing relationships with families, patients, and hospital social workers to identify needs.

Once a patient is discharged, ABF invites them to be part of our peer support group, helps guide them to assistance that may be needed for rent, medical expenses, utilities, or other basic needs, and informs them of the programs we offer for their ongoing recovery.

These programs include, but are not limited to: Camp Courage, Family Camp, Young Adult Summit, and World Burn Congress for survivors to connect and learn; peer support group; therapy services; medical equipment or supplies; and, financial assistance when needed.

On average, through H.O.P.E. Services, ABF provides support to over 1,200 burn survivors and their families each year.

“When we address the needs of burn survivors and their families before a financial and emotional crisis is amplified, we support recovery and resiliency. Each time we provide support, we assist the family with a plan for continued success beyond our services,” said Lori Janik, director of Client Care Services at ABF.

Although it is difficult to truly measure success with a program such as this, ABF believes that when a family no longer needs assistance, they have made the greatest difference.

The best outcome is a family that has not just survived the injury physically but has returned to a life that provides the dignity of independence. A burn injury never truly goes away, but if we can help a family through the initial financial and emotional trauma, they can become survivors and not victims.

Arizona Burn Foundation is happy to have the support of Thunderbirds Charities to help provide support for burn survivors and their families, the press release stated.