The Here and Now Project

Mission

The Here and Now Project's mission is to connect and empower the paralysis community in the Pacific Northwest. Through private support meetings, seasonal gatherings and activities, peer mentorship, and educational forums, we have built a fellowship who encourage and inspire each other to "Do Life" in the here and now. We also collaborate with organizations across Washington to expand access, opportunity, and connection for our broader community. 

Why We Exist

When someone leaves the hospital after a spinal cord injury, the medical system hands them a discharge packet and wishes them well. What it rarely gives them is community: people who've actually been there, who know the detours and the possibilities. 

And for those who've lived with a mobility disability their whole lives, that gap is just as real. The need for peer connection, honest resources, and people who genuinely understand doesn't start at a diagnosis. It's ongoing.

That's the gap the Here and Now Project exists to fill. Supported in part by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, we've built a statewide peer support network connected to a large majority of Washington's rehabilitation hospitals and trauma centers — so newly injured individuals can find community earlier, often while still in the hospital. In 2025 we held 159 meetings across 6 counties, distributed 91 care packs, and welcomed 115 new members through direct outreach.

Our Community

For some, it starts with a diagnosis or an injury. For others, it's simply always been part of life. What brings people here isn't a shared origin story, but a shared desire to live fully and connect deeply.

This is a fellowship of people with paralysis, mobility disabilities, caregivers, family members, and partners — showing up in the hard moments and the good ones. Newly navigating this world, many find it's the first place they feel less alone. Longtime members give back and help others see what's possible.

Our 21 peer mentors alone bring a combined 481 years of lived experience —something no brochure or search engine can replicate. Together we build fuller, more accessible, and more independent lives.

Real Stories

From care pack to community champion

When Kenny first met Martez Bryant during a care pack delivery at Harborview, Martez was a C3 SCI survivor rebuilding his life after years as a competitive athlete. Within months he was at the 5K. Within a year, he was back at Harborview: not as a patient, but as a peer counselor helping newly injured people find joy and possibility through adaptive gaming.

"Come on out, meet great people, and live life." — Martez Bryant

That's what this community does: it gives people a place to land, and they take it from there.

From connection to imagining a bigger future

Growing up with muscular dystrophy, Jacob often felt like his experiences existed outside what others could easily understand. Through Here Now Next, H&NP’s youth mentorship program, he connected with peers and mentors whose lived experiences helped broaden his sense of what adulthood, independence, and belonging could look like.

Since joining, Jacob has continued building toward that future —developing his own nonprofit, exploring new projects, and stepping into mentorship training himself as someone already beginning to encourage others.

“We’ve all had someone who showed us what was possible. If you didn’t, this is your chance to find that.” — Jacob

With Here Now Next entering its second extended cohort this summer, we're excited to continue creating space for young people like Jacob to build confidence and momentum as they shape futures of their own.

From wondering where she fit to claiming space for her full story

Kasondra’s journey has been shaped by a spinal cord injury, mental health struggles, and the ongoing process of questioning whether her experiences — and her story — truly belonged anywhere.

When she decided to attend an H&NP event, she found something meaningful: space for complexity, honesty, and connection without needing to minimize any part of herself.

“You’re not alone. You don’t know it until it sinks in—but it’s true.” — Kasondra

Today, Kasondra remains an active part of the community, offering that same honesty, encouragement, and presence to others navigating their own complex paths.

From lifelong resilience to finding community in a new season

Now in his late seventies, Dan had already built a full life — career, marriage, family, and decades of adapting after sustaining a spinal cord injury at 18 — before first connecting with H&NP.

After more than 50 years of navigating SCI, H&NP offered Dan new opportunities for peer connection, shared understanding, and community later in life.

“It’s never too late to find your community.” — Dan 

Dan’s story reflects how H&NP creates opportunities for connection across generations, reinforcing that community can continue to expand and evolve at every stage of life.