Saanich Peninsula, BC, Vancouver Island
CONNECT
Saanich Peninsula
Opened in 2025 in partnership with Island Health, CONNECT Saanich Peninsula is a 26-bedroom condo-style home where life redesign after brain injury and stroke happens in real life, not a clinical, institutional setting. Our Coaching Resource Team wraps services around the people we support so they can build a life of meaning for themselves in community or at home. We respectfully and gratefully live and work as guests on the SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation land.
move home or to less dependent settings
years supporting people after brain injury
bedrooms across BC and Ontario
Service Evaluation
What the evidence shows
CONNECT has completed two Service Evaluations, one from Lake Country data in 2017 and one from Hamilton data in 2024. Both reveal consistent and powerful outcomes for the people we support and the systems we work within.
Outstanding Personal Outcomes
Significant System Improvement Contribution
Value for Money
Read the findings directly. Choose the version that works for you.
4-page summary
Better Outcomes: The Power of Partnership and Innovation in Brain Injury
A condensed overview of the key findings from the Hamilton Service Evaluation, covering outcomes, system impact, and value for money.
Full report
CONNECT Hamilton Service Evaluation: Positive Impacts on People, Health Systems and Finances
The complete evaluation document covering all findings, methodology, and future potential of the CONNECT model.
Our reputation
30+ years of making lives better
CONNECT was founded in 1993 by mother-son team Janet and John Sherwood, drawing on their own family's experience with brain injury. Starting from a single home in Langley, BC, that founding intention still runs through everything CONNECT does today.
Three decades later, CONNECT has grown to 168 bedrooms across six locations in British Columbia and Ontario, serving thousands of people living with acquired brain injury and stroke.
30+
Years of experience
One of the longest-running specialized ABI organizations in Canada. Founded 1993, Langley BC.
168
Bedrooms across Canada
Six locations in BC and Ontario supporting people living with acquired brain injury and stroke.
1000s
Lives redesigned
Thousands of people supported across all CONNECT locations to rebuild independence and return home.
Accreditation
Canada
Leading Practice — Accreditation Canada
CONNECT's Life Redesign Model has been designated a Leading Practice by Accreditation Canada in client and family-centred care for Acquired Brain Injury services. This recognition is awarded to programs that demonstrate innovation, measurable outcomes, and a replicable model that other organizations can learn from. CONNECT is one of the few ABI organizations in Canada to hold this designation.
Our approach
Life Redesign at CONNECT Saanich Peninsula
At CONNECT Saanich Peninsula, we are supporting people to redesign their lives after brain injury and stroke in a real-life setting, so neuroplasticity happens in a non-institutional way. Our Coaching Resource Team wraps services around the individuals we support throughout their journey at CONNECT.
The principles of partnership, equitable relationships and participation to learn are at the heart of CONNECT's Life Redesign Model. CONNECT believes individuals are experts in their own lives and a partner in the life redesign planning process.
At our beautiful CONNECT Saanich Peninsula location, the people we support and our team of coaches make life redesign happen inside and outside CONNECT, often taking advantage of the beautiful ocean, forests and communities surrounding us.
Learn more about Life Redesign →"CONNECT believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. The goals eventually became bigger and bigger, and now I am living completely independently."
— Person supported at CONNECT
Life at CONNECT
A home, not a facility
From morning routines and community BBQs to woodworking, smudging ceremonies and dogs in the hallway, this is what rehabilitation looks like when it's rooted in living.
Take a tour
See CONNECT Saanich Peninsula
Watch a walkthrough of our Saanich Peninsula location. See the common spaces, bedrooms, the team, and the beautiful Vancouver Island community surrounding us.
In their words
What people say about CONNECT
"CONNECT actually does what the name suggests. It connects you to yourself and to this family of people living here and the people working here."
— Richmond, former resident
"There was no laying in bed past 10am like in the hospital. CONNECT was all about good routines, independence, and preparing our own meals."
— Keith, former resident
"We were a family and supported each other a lot. The people living and working here were pretty incredible."
— Tracy, former resident
"I call them my brain wizards. These are pretty special people who do good work for people like me. I'm very, very fortunate."
— Dan, former resident
"I have joined a club and am part of a choir. I am studying library tech at Mohawk. Things have been really good."
— Michael, former resident
"I praise CONNECT every opportunity I get. The people working here are making a big difference in people's lives."
— Peter, former resident
"The whole philosophy behind CONNECT and helping people redesign their lives after brain injury and stroke really speaks to me."
— Denise, Life Redesign Coach, CONNECT Hamilton
How it works
From first conversation to coming home
Referrals for Island Health funded bedrooms at CONNECT Saanich Peninsula go through the Brain Injury Program (BIP). To refer to BIP, use the Community Access Line for your region. For individualized contract inquiries, contact Dale Breese directly.
Brain Injury Program (BIP) Referrals
Use the Community Access Line for your region to connect with the Brain Injury Program.
South Island
All communities south of Mill Bay, including Greater Victoria, the southern Gulf Islands, and west to Port Renfrew
Centre Island
All communities from Mill Bay to Deep Bay, including Gabriola Island
North Island
All communities north of Deep Bay, including the North Vancouver Island Regional District and adjacent Gulf Islands, Port Alberni and Tofino
Dale Breese Service Access and Transitions Leader. Please reach out to him for all individualized contract inquiries.
Here is what to expect
Initial conversation
A confidential case review with our team. We listen, answer questions, and help you understand whether CONNECT Saanich Peninsula is the right fit. No commitment required.
Assessment and proposal
We conduct a needs assessment and prepare a tailored cost proposal for submission to the insurer or funder.
Tour the home
Visit CONNECT Saanich Peninsula in person or virtually before any commitment is made.
Rehabilitation
3-month funding cycles with regular progress reporting. An integrated team, a real-life setting and a person-centred plan that evolves along with the person we support.
Coming home
Planned transition to home or a less dependent environment, with full documentation and continued support through the next chapter.
For referral partners
Supporting you at every stage
We work closely with lawyers, case managers, OTs, and insurers — generating the documentation and evidence you need while your client rebuilds their life.
Cost-of-care documentation
3-month cycles with detailed cost reporting — directly usable in care cost claims and legal proceedings.
Functional progress reports
Demonstrates level of care required and outcomes achieved at every stage of rehabilitation.
Transition planning
Clear move-out documentation from intensive residential care to community reintegration.
One integrated daily rate
Simpler cost-of-care calculations versus itemizing piecemeal services across multiple providers.
Funding sources
We work with your funding source
Arrangements are tailored to each case. We have experience working with all major third-party funders in British Columbia and Ontario.
Our team is happy to discuss funding pathways, timelines and next steps.
What referral partners receive
Detailed cost proposals
Tailored to the individual's needs and ready for funder submission
Regular progress reports
Regular updates on functional outcomes and support levels.
Direct access to our team
One point of contact throughout their entire stay.
Transition documentation
Complete move-out package when the individual comes home.
Ready to talk?
Your first conversation starts here
We respond to all inquiries within one business day. No commitment required — just a conversation.
Get in touch
Dale Breese, Service Access and Transitions Leader
First point of contact for placements, funding questions, and case consultations at CONNECT Saanich Peninsula.
Start a conversation