Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse

What Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse does

Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in July 1999 by Cindi Johnson in partnership with Shepherd Center, Emory Healthcare, and the Imlay Foundation, and operating since March 2000 from a single site at 1001 Main Street in Stone Mountain, Georgia. It is Georgia's only long-term rehabilitative day program for survivors of stroke and acquired brain injury, delivering the ABI Clubhouse Model — a member-directed, work-ordered day approach adapted from the mental health clubhouse tradition and certified by the International Brain Injury Clubhouse Alliance (IBICA). Members, rather than clients, work alongside staff across three units (Maintenance, Kitchen, Business) to operate the Clubhouse, while the organization layers in psychosocial and vocational rehabilitation, life skills coaching, family support groups, and individualized employment services including job coaching.

Revenue is generated through a diversified set of channels: per-day membership fees; third-party sponsorship from Workers' Compensation carriers, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Independent Care Waiver Program of Medicaid; scholarship assistance from the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund; tax-deductible donations from individuals and corporate supporters; and event-based fundraising led by the annual Recovery Brunch. The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on referrals from Shepherd Center, Emory Healthcare, Grady Hospital neurologists, and other community organizations, supplemented by an intake coordinator and eligibility screening workflow. The organization holds its fifth consecutive CARF three-year accreditation (awarded April 2024) and is licensed by the Georgia Department of Community Health as an Adult Day Center.

The organization operates with a lean team of approximately 14 staff — including an Executive Director/CEO (Bryan Schroeder), Clubhouse Manager, Senior Rehabilitation Counselors, Program Coordinators per work unit, a Compliance Manager, and fundraising and billing specialists — governed by a Board of Directors chaired (since July 2025) by Heather Miller of Emory Healthcare. Service delivery is entirely in-person on weekdays, with no digital product, mobile application, or AI/ML-enabled platform disclosed; the technology footprint is limited to a Squarespace website and MailChimp newsletter infrastructure. Cumulatively, Side by Side has served over 800 individuals across 25+ years of operation.

Name

Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse

Legal name

Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse

Website

https://sidebysideclubhouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating Georgia's only long-term ABI Clubhouse day program, serving stroke and brain injury survivors through a member-directed, work-ordered rehabilitation model delivered from Stone Mountain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brain Injury Rehabilitation Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Adult Day Rehabilitation & Therapy Programs (PT/OT/SLP) (HLADAIAD)

Keywords

• Brain injury rehabilitation
• Psychosocial rehabilitation services
• Vocational rehabilitation programs
• Adult day services
• Community-based rehabilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Stone Mountain

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Per-day fee to cover the cost of providing services. Members with funding resources pay membership fees. Discounts available based on financial need and scholarship funds for those without external payer sources.
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individual donors and corporate supporters. The organization depends on donor contributions to help members lacking outside payer sources and subsidize Clubhouse programming costs.
3. Third-Party Payer Sources: Worker's compensation carriers, state Vocational Rehabilitation, and Independent Care Waiver Program of Medicaid may sponsor qualifying members.
4. Event Sponsorships: Recovery Brunch and other fundraising events with corporate sponsors at various levels (Title, Gold, Silver, Bronze).
5. Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund: Scholarship assistance for members with traumatic brain injuries through state-funded trust.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse operates a work-ordered day program based on the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Clubhouse Model of rehabilitation. Members (brain injury survivors) work alongside staff in three work units (Maintenance, Kitchen, and Business) to rebuild social, cognitive, and vocational skills, supplemented by life skills training, family support, and employment services. It is Georgia's only long-term rehabilitative day program of its kind for survivors of stroke and brain injury.

Product overview

Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse offers a single integrated rehabilitation day program based on the Clubhouse Model of rehabilitation. The core offering is a Work-Ordered Day Program that includes Psychosocial and Vocational Rehabilitation, Life Skills Training and Coaching, Family Support, and Employment Services. These programs work together to provide comprehensive, long-term support for brain injury survivors, helping them rebuild social and work-related skills in a purposeful, meaningful, and productive way.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clubhouse Work-Ordered Day Program A work-ordered day program where brain injury survivors (members) work alongside staff to operate the Clubhouse while building social, thinking and work skills. Members volunteer in one of three work units: Maintenance, Kitchen, or Business.
• Psychosocial and Vocational Rehabilitation Helps members build social, thinking and work skills necessary to regain self-sufficiency through structured daily activities aligned with the ABI Clubhouse Model.
• Life Skills Training and Coaching Assists members with understanding cognitive strengths and challenges, developing systems to track and complete daily responsibilities, emergency preparedness, healthy lifestyle choices, and time management.
• Family Support Program Offers individual, group, and peer-to-peer resources and support to strengthen family relationships strained after brain injury, including monthly support groups, resource coaching, and brain injury training.
• Employment Services Individualized vocational services that help members navigate employment after brain injury, including vocational counseling, employment networking, job search activities, and onsite/distance job coaching.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 800 individuals served since founding in 1999-2000
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Shepherd CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 1999Co-founder of Side by Side along with Emory Healthcare and Imlay Foundation. Shepherd Center is a renowned brain injury rehabilitation hospital that provides referrals and expertise in brain injury treatment. Side by Side was founded by Cindi Johnson when she was a program director at Shepherd Center.
• Emory HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 1999Co-founder of Side by Side along with Shepherd Center and Imlay Foundation. Major healthcare system in Atlanta providing referrals and medical expertise for brain injury survivors.
• Imlay FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 1999Co-founder of Side by Side along with Shepherd Center and Emory Healthcare. Philanthropic foundation supporting brain injury rehabilitation programs.
• International Brain Injury Clubhouse Alliance (IBICA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership organization that sets standards for brain injury clubhouses worldwide. Side by Side follows IBICA standards adapted from Clubhouse International.
• Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccreditation body that provides rigorous peer-review process for rehabilitation facilities. Side by Side received fifth consecutive three-year accreditation in April 2024.
• Georgia Department of Community HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState regulatory body that licenses and regulates Side by Side as an Adult Day Center.
• Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency that helps people with disabilities achieve employment. May sponsor qualifying members to attend Side by Side.
• Medicaid Waiver - Georgia MedicaidminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-Term Care and Independent Care Waivers may help people with disabilities attend Side by Side instead of institutions.
• Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState fund providing assistance to traumatic brain injury survivors. Members with traumatic brain injuries may qualify for scholarship assistance.
• Brain Injury Association of GeorgiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState affiliate of national brain injury advocacy organization. Promotes awareness, understanding and prevention of brain injury through education, advocacy, and community support.
• Chai Pani DecaturcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRestaurant hosting annual Recovery Brunch fundraising event. Executive Chef Sahar Siddiqi has personal connection to brain injury community through her grandfather's stroke. Event features food and beverage from 30+ local chefs.
• Defense and Veterans Brain Injury CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal resource serving active duty military, their dependents and veterans with traumatic brain injury through medical care, clinical research and educational programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ReMed: A private provider of post-acute brain injury rehabilitation services including community-based day programs, residential services, and vocational support. Comparable because it operates community reintegration and supported employment programs for brain injury survivors using a similar service mix to Side by Side.
• Learning Services: A national provider of neurobehavioral and post-acute brain injury rehabilitation programs with residential and day treatment settings. Comparable because it serves the same brain injury survivor population with similar rehabilitation, life skills, and community reintegration programming.
• Pate Rehabilitation: A Texas-based brain injury rehabilitation provider offering post-acute residential, day, and outpatient programs including vocational services. Comparable because it serves acquired brain injury survivors with similar multidisciplinary rehabilitation and return-to-work programming.
• Centre for Neuro Skills: A private post-acute brain injury rehabilitation provider with day treatment, residential, and outpatient programs across California and Texas. Comparable because it delivers similar therapeutic, vocational, and community reintegration services to brain injury survivors.
• Moody Neurorehabilitation: A Texas-based provider of post-acute neurorehabilitation including residential, day, and outpatient programs for brain injury survivors. Comparable because it offers an integrated rehabilitation-to-community transition model similar to Side by Side's clubhouse approach.

Broad incumbents

• Shepherd Center: A renowned Atlanta-based hospital specializing in catastrophic injury rehabilitation including brain injury. Directly comparable because it is a co-founder of Side by Side, shares the same patient population, and provides the upstream acute and post-acute rehab that Side by Side's members transition from.
• Magee Rehabilitation Hospital: A Philadelphia-based rehabilitation hospital with brain injury programs including outpatient and community reintegration services. Comparable because it operates a full continuum from acute to community-based brain injury care overlapping with Side by Side's focus area.

Regional players

• TBI MedLegal: Not provided in source data and not confident enough to include without verification.

Others

• Clubhouse International: The international standards and accreditation body for the Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation. Directly comparable because Side by Side's core program is built on the Clubhouse model, and Clubhouse International certifies and supports clubhouses globally.
• Brain Injury Association of America: The national advocacy and awareness organization for brain injury survivors and their families. Comparable because it shares the same target population, partners with Side by Side via its Georgia affiliate, and operates a parallel support and resource ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sidebysideclubhousega
• Facebookfacebook.com/SideBySideBrainInjuryClubhouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/side-by-side-brain-injury-clubhouse-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/sidebysideclubhouse
• Xx.com/sidebysideclub

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse