Survivors and families impacted by the devastation of road collisions are being supported by a growing specialist charity which is dedicated to helping them rebuild their lives after life-changing – or even fatal – injury.
Aftermath Support was founded in Liverpool in 2005, following a successful pilot project between bereaved family members – whose loved ones had died in traffic incidents – alongside Merseyside Police, Headway and RoadPeace.
Since then, the charity has grown to independently support over 13,700 individuals and families to deal with the consequences of road collisions, and covers Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and parts of Greater Manchester. It is the named road traffic collision support service for Merseyside Police.
Aftermath assists families on a one-to-one basis from the earliest days after injury or loss with a range of practical and emotional support – and also has an in-house counsellor – and helps to guide them through any police investigation and court process that may result from the incident.
Brain injury is particularly prevalent, with road collisions being the second biggest cause of traumatic brain injury, and its life-changing impact felt by survivors and their wider family and network alike.
To help meet the growing demand for its services – which has surged in the past 12 months in particular – Aftermath is adding two more people to its core team, to ensure it continues to provide the level of service and intervention families across the North West need.
“As a charity, we’re very niche in the service we provide, and I feel really passionate about what we do because we’re there for people often when they have nowhere else,” says Karen Blair, chief executive of Aftermath.
“A lot of people don’t realise that only people who are seriously injured or bereaved as a result of road crime are entitled to Victim Support – whereas we work with anyone who has been affected by a road crash. That’s quite a difference.
“We’re focused on meeting the needs of everyone that comes to us, we don’t discriminate in any way.”
Karen says that Wirral-based Aftermath is there as soon as a referral comes in, and its support is ongoing for months and often years.
“The minute we receive a referral, it’s allocated to one of the road traffic collision support team,” she says.
“Sometimes that will be within days of the crash, but sometimes it can be months afterwards. We always make that contact, just to let people know we’re here and what help and support we can provide.
“Particularly in the early stages after a crash, people are dealing with things like police investigations, dealing with serious injury or even planning a funeral, so it might not be the right time. But we’ll get in contact at regular intervals, just to check in with them until they’re at a point where they’re ready to talk or want to seek some support.
“Once they do engage with us, there’s a really broad range of support we provide, from putting them in touch with a personal injury solicitor, to helping them to access a funeral grant.
“We’re also really mindful of how stretched statutory services are, and the wait to see a counsellor can be at least 12 to 18 weeks, so we do have some counselling hours available. Counselling is often absolutely vital to the people we support.
“Once we work with someone, we don’t put a time limit on how long that will last. Sometimes when police are involved and there is an investigation and court process, it can take up to two years for that to be concluded.
“We’ll support them through that process, and then if they go away and it’s at that point the trauma really hits them of everything that has happened, they can come back to us at any time. We’re always here.”
To help meet the needs of the ever-increasing number of referrals it receives, Aftermath is growing its team – but as an organisation funded wholly by grants and donations, Karen says fundraising has never been more important.
“We are a small team considering the job we do and the area we cover, and over the past 12 months, referrals have increased,” she says.
“Our job can be really stressful and emotionally-draining for the team, there are only a certain amount of people I’ll allow each of them to work with at any one time for their own wellbeing.
“Our trustees have kindly backed me in investing some of our reserves into frontline staff. We’ve got a fantastic, dedicated team, and the more of us there are, the more we can do.
“We have no ongoing grants at the moment, and fundraising is tough for us as it is for all charities. So while it is challenging, we have some amazing people doing such brilliant things on our behalf to raise money. One hundred per cent of donations received by Aftermath Support go directly to providing help to those affected by road crash.
“We are a service that you only hear of at the worst time of your life, we probably aren’t something you’d necessarily think of otherwise – but we’re here for people and families during the most difficult periods imaginable and help to support them through that.”
* Aftermath Support trustee Richard Crabtree is cycling 980 miles from Lands End to John O’ Groats to help raise vital funds for the charity. Support him here
