HERE WHEN YOU NEED US MOST
Our Team
Benjamin Promane, MSW, RSW.
Social Worker
Ben is a Registered Social Worker with broad experience working with individuals and families in community, residential and education settings. He earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Windsor and has additional training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
Since joining CHIRS in 2024, Ben has been a member of the clinical team providing individual, couples, family, and group interventions for individuals living with brain injury and their families. He leads the implementation of the organization’s ethical framework, offers clinical consultation to client support teams, facilitates staff training, contributes to family support program development, and supervises Master of Social Work students in their clinical placements.
Before entering the field of social work, Ben built a successful career as a professional musician and music educator. A Juno Award nominee with the Order of Canada Jazz Ensemble and a Dora Mavor Moore Award recipient for The Overcoat with Tapestry Opera, his work has taken him on international tours throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He also served as a music consultant to actor Ethan Hawke in the film Born to Be Blue. Ben continues to perform with ensembles across the Greater Toronto Area.
Local: (416) 696-6031
Toll free: (833) 696-6031
Fax: (416) 240-1149
Email: [email protected]
Life-changing support, transformative rehabilitation.
Nobody should have to suffer because of ABI. Our fee-for-service offerings are designed to help families cope and compensate when life gets tough.
We transform lives.
Help us do more for the community.
A gift to the CHIRS Foundation is a wonderful way to pay tribute or make a difference to those
living with ABI and their families. Your donations help with undertaking more ABI research,
consistently improving care facilities, and employing even more influential members of staff.
CHIRS has provided me with a greater sense of independence. Before CHIRS, and after my accident, I was living with my mother. Moving into a residence at CHIRS gave me a chance to step back into society. As well, I really love the music program at CHIRS; It gives me a chance to practice the harmonica and to join my friends in singing. I also like to mentor at the club. Doing laundry, serving coffee and washing dishes is a great way to feel productive and give back to CHIRS.
The quality of human beings in this building, from staff to volunteers to students to participants, is so far superior to what is found in the regular world. There is always someone here to lend a hand or provide a positive word when needed. There is always something to do at CHIRS. You will never be bored. Many people who attend have had their life change, going from working full time to having a lot of time on their hands. CHIRS gives us a place to go and meet people and have fun.
CHIRS is a good place to hang out. People are my ‘own type’ in that we all have brain injuries which means that we understand each other. It is good to know that at CHIRS people won’t dismiss me right away if they see that I walk funny or hear me talking in a peculiar fashion. I mentor at the club on Mondays and I do the work as needed. It keeps me busy and helps me feel needed. Plus the coffee is cheap which is a bonus!
My favourite thing about CHIRS is connecting with my peers and helping out. I prepare lunch at the club twice a week, run a Scrabble group on Tuesday and help with karaoke on Thursday. It helps to keep my brain stimulated and allows me to feel like I am doing something worthwhile with my life. I love the challenge of making the club a welcoming and positive place. It feels so good to turn frowns into smiles. If I didn’t have CHIRS I would feel isolated and would have far less to look forward to.
