This support group utilizes the power of storytelling and making connection

Our names are Leili Hashemi and Matt Little. We will co-facilitate this group.

We are both young brain injury survivors learning how to navigate life. 

Leili Hashemi graduated from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a major in Cell Biology and a minor in Nutritional Studies. She enjoys traveling, eating nourishing foods, and being outdoors. She was preparing for medical school until her life changed overnight. Leili suffered a hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 24. She was in the hospital for 3 months, unable to eat, walk, talk or even breathe on her own. After her stroke, Matt was an invaluable source of support for her while she worked to recover. He also helped her navigate this new space by suggesting resources and things to look into that helped him. Leili found herself frustrated at times because she didn't know many young adults with brain injury (aside from Matt) so she didn't have much to connect to.  

As the universe would have it, Matt had the same kind of rare stroke in the same exact spot of the brain as Leili. At 29, Matt was working in fundraising and communications for a NGO-based in Haiti, when his brain hemorrhaged. Over the 5+ years of rehabilitation, spending time with other young people in recovery has been vital to Matt’s emotional well-being. At a brain injury clinic that Leili and Matt both attended, the two became friends and met other young folks in similar positions. Matt and Leili's desire to start this group for young people stems from the lived understanding that community can provide unparalleled value.